The Prisoner of Azkaban
by PrecariousPersonata
Summary: Buffy was asked to protect Hogwarts. Everything she knew about the job was clear until she ends up saving one of the most wanted murderers in both the Wizard and Muggle World. And that's just the beginning. BtVSHP (Discontinued)
1. News

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Harry Potter. All of the characters, settings, themes, books, show, titles, worlds, names, demons, witches, slayers, creation, references, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong the Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., and of course, J.K. Rowling. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Story is set 1 year after Season 7 and five days before Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. Just for possible future references, the story will be happening during Angel's Season 5.

**Author's Note:** …Hopefully, the third time's a charm. Anywayz, review as always…please?

**-**

**---**

Chapter 1—Chosen

**---**

**-  
**  
_Buffy opened her eyes when a soft breeze passed her. A strange sight greeted her but at the same time, the scenery looked oddly familiar. A slight fog covered the grounds she stood on, bringing a sense of mysteriousness around the place._

_She looked up at the sky, finding it in its usual dark hue that gave her a sense of seclusion. Towering to her left was a forest while a lake to her right glimmered under the limited light. _

_The Slayer suddenly heard a muffled cry through the bushes in front of her. Curious, she walked towards where the sound came from, pulling back the bush to give her a better access along the way. _

_Buffy looked for the source of the sound and saw a man on his knees, moaning, pleading, no—begging for mercy to hundreds of hooded figures that circled him. Her brain dimly noted that the person's voice sounded so far away._

"_Noooo…please…I'm innocent…no…don't! ...I beg you...you've got… the wrong…man," he cried, each plea becoming weaker as seconds passed by. _

_The cloaked figures ignored his desperate pleas as they walked—no wait… glided?—towards him. Buffy felt that she needed to save the shaken man, but somehow couldn't bring herself to. _

_She found herself watching with morbid interest as the hooded men surrounded him closer and closer. A ghastly hand came out from one of the cloaks and reached out to grab the man's face. _

_By now, the rugged man has fainted, though his ashen face was still contorted in pain. The cloaked man brought his face nearer to the fainted one, as if to kiss him…_

…

…

"BUFFY!"

"Aiee!" Buffy sat straight up before yelping loudly as she saw a pair of green eyes looking at her. "Jesus, Dawn!" she gasped out, her hand clutching her chest as she gasped for air.

She closed her eyes to help calm herself, but only found the images and cries of the man in her recent dream playing again.

_I'm innocent…!_

"Sorry," replied Dawn, a sheepish smile forming in her face. She didn't see Buffy's troubled face as she started to explain what she was doing. "I came to wake you up like you asked me last night, and when I came in you were all 'sleeping like a baby' and stuff like that so I wondered if you'll wake up if I just stared and sat here since you know, you're a Slayer and Slayers are supposed to have that 'sixth sense' down and you'd wake up on your own so I stayed and I stared but then it took you so long to wake up and I was getting hungry so I just yelled," she babbled.

Fortunately, Buffy had calmed down enough to see Dawn's flushed faced from the lack of air.

"Breathe Dawn! I wouldn't want a sister dying because of lack of air while saying a sentence. Oh, I can just hear what the people will say," she sighed with fake sorrow, then grinned when Dawn glared at her. The last remains of the dream were slowly fading away, but some were still imprinted in her mind.

She made a mental note to tell Giles about that dream before remembering Dawn was there. "Uhn…remind me, why did I ask you to wake me up again?"

"Training…Slayers…Giles…all needing help? Any of the words ring a bell? Oh and Willow says hi from Japan. She just got to the Land of Sushi this morning and said she'll be coming home in a couple of weeks with the new round of newbies," Dawn explained while Buffy got off her bed.

"Any news with Faith in the states?" Buffy asked briskly as she started to change her clothes.

"Same old, same old. Killed some of the undead, demons…yattiyattiyatta. They found some more slayers though so Faith's coming back with them tomorrow. She said she already did the whole 'You-are-now-the-Slayer' speech. And before you ask, yes, the older Slayers and their Watchers got into their destinations safe and all accounted for in their locations. All of them are starting their 'saving the day' gig and the phones will be a-ringing from them after they settled in their flats. So all you hafta do is get back to basics with the new Slayers that arrived here a couple of days ago," Dawn finished as soon as her sister finished changing. "Done yet? My tummy's rumbling."

"Yup. To the kitchens!"

-

**---**

**-**

**Hogwarts, Dumbledore's Office**

**-  
**  
Dumbledore sighed tiredly.

It was the middle of summer, and all he has received so far was work, work, and work. Not that he hadn't been in worse situations of course, but really, this was beyond menial. With he opening of the Chamber of Secrets last year, it had created a controversy amongst the School Council about the safety of the school and the students.

Of course, the topic of the Sorcerer's Stone the year before that didn't help on trying to reassure the Council of Hogwart's safety either. Some were already growing skeptical, especially when the attacks were somehow connected to Voldemort's attempts on regaining power.

Which was good since this is the start of the wizards' awakening of the Dark Lord's current state of being alive. But it also fuels the growing persistence of the Council's attempts on trying to enforce more safety rules. It's a very vicious cycle, thought Dumbledore.

He sighed again as he thought about some of those suggestions. Posting dementors around the schooling! Merlin's beard! The next thing the Council thinks of is letting Goblins run Hogwarts!

No, what the school needs is a protector…someone who can defend the school whenever the need arises. But who?

_Who _would be strong enough to fight an upcoming battle?

_Who_ was strong enough to fight one of the worst wizards known to the magic world?

_Who_ was strong enough to protect a castle full of young wizards?

Then, a smile started to grow on Dumbledore's face as his mind thought of the perfect person. He drew out a piece of envelope and his quill and began writing.

To: Miss Buffy Summers… 

-

**---**

**-**

**Bath, England. Home Base**

-

"Ohh, boy…That hit the spot…," Dawn groaned as she patted her stomach fondly. A couple groans of agreement came from the other patrons in the kitchen. "Too bad all of it has to come off during training."

Another round of agreements resounded, before they gave out a loud sigh of content.

"C'mon guys, er, girls…Slayers! Time for training. Commodore Buffy says to meet her in the backyard for the training session. And I get to record it with my new camcorder I bought yesterday!" Andrew gushed out happily, as he showed the slayers his brand new camcorder. "Said something about it being uber important on introducing future Slayers and keeping records for the future; basically official Watcher business." Andrew added offhandedly.

"Oh and Giles needs you in the main library, Dawn."

"What for?" Dawn asked curiously. The slayers already started to get up and leave the room, leaving her and Andrew alone to talk.

Andrew shrugged after the noise died down. "I don't know…but there were some stuffy British guys that came in mega-late last night. I think he needs you to pull off the 'routine' on them."

"'Routine?'" she echoed back, an arched eyebrow rose up high. Andrew seemed oblivious to her questioning tone and answered right back without hesitation.

"You know…act all girly and get them in? Hook, line, and sinker? Do the whole puppy eyed gig and ask them what they want. Guys really are suckers for that, especially the…Brit—_ish_…," he trailed off when he finally saw her glare. Andrew suddenly grew fidgety and looked at his covered wrist. "Oh look at the time! I really have to go. Buffy's gonna kill me if I'm late…er, bye Dawn!" said Andrew before going off to the backyard.

Dawn shook her head, but started her walk to the second floor of their new house, a.k.a. Home Base, where the main library was found. After the destruction of the Hellmouth, the gang later moved to England.

It was practical, really. Apparently, the old Watcher's Council held a significant amount of money that was stocked for their operations and other basic needs and not even the former bombing of the place did anything to eradicate the account. It was so significant in fact, that they found more than several different bank accounts in different currencies and in different countries stocked away for accessible usage.

From Euros to Dollars, from Pesos to Yen, to numerous other currencies that some even Giles couldn't name. In fact, it was the same accessibility to money that helped set up Faith's flat back in Cleveland, pay for the comfortable apartments, and to buy their everyday needs.

Oh, and the weapons came from that money, too.

They also used it to buy a huge mansion near the outskirts of Bath, England to serve as their new headquarters. Though the location of the house wasn't the gang's first choice, they realized later on that it made sense to move in the Mother Country. They turned the huge house into a training ground for the newly risen Slayers and as their main Slayer Central.

The building they chose was huge enough that it accommodated several libraries, two large kitchens, an enormous dining room, numerous bathrooms, at least 40 spacious bedrooms, and two immense living rooms. One of which they set up as a training/armory room and the other for their daily entertainment.

The mansion itself was at least 6 stories high, and has a spacious backyard in the back that was mostly used for extensive training. The building couldn't have been possibly been described as a house to a passerby…more of as a medium-sized, old hotel.

Overall, one can safely say that the whole property was at least five acres. Something that made the original gang's jaws drop in amazement.

There was that one downsized disadvantage at the size of the house though: the enormous amount of stairs.

Dawn groaned as she took in the sight in front of her.

Since the building was built back in the years where elevators haven't been invented yet, the extensive amount of stairs was the only way to get from floor to floor.

For the past months, she had been complaining to Giles about its amount and how they should hire someone to create an elevator inside the house. Unfortunately, the now 'Head-Watcher' of the household held firmly on his decision against it.

With a resentful sigh, Dawn marched up the stairs.

_This better be_** good**_…_

_-_

**---**

**-**

**Backyard, Slayer Training, HB…**

**-**

"The first lesson of being Slayer, don't get killed," Buffy shouted out to the new arrivals. She looked at every single one of them, all of them looking too young to take on the heavy responsibility of the Slayer.

Too innocent, too many…_They're just, girls. _

"I know all of you feel pretty confident with the power that has been given to you, the strength…the skill. You're all confident of the power to destroy down everything that comes in your way. Don't. Confidence leads to pride, pride leads to arrogance, and arrogance will lead you to your death."

A shiver ran amongst the crowd at her tone. Buffy continued on, starting to walk around as she did.

"This isn't the easiest thing to do in the world, girls. Hell, the world's very fate lies on your hands. Many of you will think in the end that being called as a Slayer and having its responsibilities is not fair, and it isn't. Why should _we_ carry on the weight of the world? Why should WE have to sacrifice ourselves and die as a hidden champion? Why should we fight a fight that no one will even recognize us for in the end?

"Why? Because it's the right thing to do. Everyone in this room has been blessed…cursed…given…whatever you want to look at it, with the same power. Power to do good, to help people, and fight evil. Being the Slayer is your destiny, your Calling. It'll suck, but you can't get away from it. Until now."

Buffy stopped walking before continuing, causing her to stand right next to a beaming Andrew. "We have given you the powers you now posses, but we gave you more than that. We're giving you a choice, a choice that none of the other Slayers before us had; to be a Slayer or not, to help the good fight or to stand back, to have the responsibilities, to have the power, to_ be_ a Champion. It's now your choice.

"So, what will it be?"

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**A/N: **So…was the third try the charmer? I really hope so, and your reviews will take care of that nicely!

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_edited on 8-15-05_


	2. You've Got Mail

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Harry Potter. All of the characters, settings, themes, books, show, titles, worlds, names, demons, witches, slayers, creation, references, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong the Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., and of course, J.K. Rowling. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Story is set 1 year after Season 7 and five days before Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. Just for possible future references, the story will be happening during Angel's Season 5.

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the greatly appreciated review, guys! Up next: some sisterly bonding and the letter from Hogwarts! Read on to find out some more!

**-**

**---**

Chapter 2—You've Got Mail

**---**

**-**

The Slayers came in from their opening pep-talk from the oldest slayer, their gloomy mood showing through their dark faces. It made everyone who passed them suddenly less cheerful. One by one, they went to their rooms to decide which choice to make.

_To be or not to be?_

All of them were so deep in their thoughts that they didn't notice Buffy's hardened gaze change into a pitiful one as she looked at them.

_A choice…a choice she never had…_

Buffy shook her lingering thoughts away and went back outside. Her sister came out a minute later and sat right next to her. She turned to look at Dawn's smiling face and couldn't keep an eyebrow from rising up.

"What got you in a good mood?"

If it was even possible, Dawn's smile broadened even more. "I got accepted in Oxford University!" she squealed happily. Dawn took out a letter addressed to her and gave it Buffy. "Giles gave me this awhile ago, says he's really proud that I got accepted in his old school. I'm starting this September, isn't this great, Buff!"

Buffy gaped at the letter Dawn received.

Although extremely proud of Dawn to be accepted at what she heard to be one of the best colleges in England, she was sorely disappointed that she'd be leaving their new home in a couple of months. "This is great, Dawn! I mean, wow…"

Dawn must've seen her disappointed face. "You don't like it?" the look on Dawn's face was heartbreaking to see.

"No! I mean…not that I doubted that you'd get in, but God, I'm just a little surprised is all…," Buffy trailed off, still looking at the letter as if checking to see if it was real.

Her sister nodded slowly. "But, you're happy right? You'll be okay with me going to live in a dormitory and not here being Watcher-in-Training?"

Buffy pushed away the thoughts of keeping her sister in their new home. It was selfish of her to do so! Dawn was moving on with her life while she was stuck here training the future Slayers; she should be happy for her.

Buffy looked up to face Dawn and flashed a reassuring smile. "Of course! I mean, I WILL miss you and all that sisterly love, but you're moving on…going to college, meeting new people, and learning new stuff. Why wouldn't I be okay?"

Dawn still didn't look convinced. "I could always stay you know. Come back here if any thing big and bad is happening," Dawn told her.

Buffy waved her hand as if to brush the idea away.

"No, Dawnie. You've got a chance to live a normal life; take it," said Buffy, unable to keep the slight bitterness from her tone.

Dawn placed her head on Buffy's shoulder to comfort her. "It's a little bit too late for that, sis. I will never be normal, being a Key to open dimensions and all, and I'm okay with that. And honestly? I'd rather be fighting the fight than slink off in a dormitory smoking pot. Totally kidding!" she added quickly at Buffy's mortified face.

Buffy shook her head at her sister's antics. "You know you have a choice, Dawn. You can still get away from…_this _if you just go and stay in Oxford." She waved her hands to point out her meaning.

To her surprise, Dawn chuckled under her chin. "I know that Buff. You've given the same choice to those Slayers at their first day in training. And let me tell you, you've done a pretty good job of making them look like someone died." Buffy cringed at the comment but Dawn patted her reassuringly. "No pun intended by the way. But I already chose, Buff. I'll always be here no matter what, okay?"

Buffy smiled down at her sister before wrapping her arm around her to give Dawn a hug. "Look at you; my little Dawnie all grown up."

"Oh, so the height factor didn't give it away, huh?" Dawn retorted cockily before dissolving to a fit of giggles at her pointed stare.

"Thanks Dawn," Buffy said a bit sarcastically afterwards.

Dawn merely nodded her head and the Summers sisters stayed in a comfortable silence; a comfortable silence they have sorely missed for a long time. A moment later, Buffy saw something that caught her eye.

Dawn seemed to notice this as well since she sat up straighter and looked at the bird flying towards them.

"Is that an…_owl_?" asked Dawn incredulously.

Her question was soon answered when the tawny bird flew over Buffy, dropped down a letter on her lap and quickly perched on a branch next to them. Dawn looked at the owl with disbelief before turning to Buffy to look at what the owl dropped off.

Buffy picked up the envelope warily and read the words written in emerald ink out loud:

_To: Miss Buffy Anne Summers_

_Backyard of Home Base Bath, England_

Dawn let out a slow whistle. "Well, somebody has been doing their research."

Buffy suddenly stood up and looked around frantically. Somebody must have been watching them to get the exact address on where she was.

But it couldn't be possible.

Willow had placed a powerful, and by that, she meant _powerful,_ protection spell and a few other charms on their house so that no one could trespass their grounds without any of them noticing.

It was like ADT® on steroids.

Realizing what she was thinking, Dawn shook her head at Buffy and told her, "Nobody could be there Buffy. If there was, we would notice it."

"Would we?" she asked, a look of determination glinted in her eyes. She turned to look at Dawn who looked uncertain at her question. "How would this person know where I am exactly unless they've been watching me all this time?"

Before Dawn could make up an answer, the owl suddenly hooted behind them.

The sisters turned to look at it and nearly jumped when the owl hooted again louder than before. It cocked its head and looked at the letter and then back at Buffy and at the letter again.

The Slayer raised her eyebrow and brought up the letter to the owl. "You want me to open this?"

Dawn looked at Buffy as if she completely lost her marbles—which truthfully, she already had a long time ago, but that was besides to point. To both their utter surprise, the owl hooted again and bobbed its head up and down as if to say yes.

Cautiously, Dawn slowly asked the owl, "Is the person who sent that letter watching us?"

The bird cocked its head thoughtfully, before it fluttered its wings and shook its head.

"Guess that's a no," the Slayer said before she turned the small envelope around and saw a seal on the opening of the letter.

It was a red crest with a big 'H' in the middle of four animals. Shrugging off her curiosity at what the animals represented, she took out the letter and began reading the same emerald words out loud:

_HogwartsSchool_

_of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Conf. of Wizards)_

"Well someone sounds pretty full of himself," Dawn bit out sarcastically, though wasn't entirely sure of what a 'Mugwump' was. Buffy rolled her eyes but said nothing and continued to read:

-

_Dear Miss Buffy Anne Summers,_

_-_

_Please do not be alarmed at the strange delivery of this letter. I understand that sending this would've been less startling if it was done the Muggle way, but this was an easier and faster way to get in touch with you. I would also dearly appreciate it if you give Albert (the owl) some water before you send him back with your response to this message._

_Speaking of which, I have a great favor to ask of you. I am in dire need of your help in my school this upcoming term. A growing danger has been growing in the Wizard World for the past couple of years, and I fear for the safety of my students. It would be easier to talk to you about this in person rather than in a letter, so if you are interested and are available to give us assistance via teaching in my school, please return Albert with your answer. _

_If you do agree or at least interested in what I have to say, meet me in downtown Muggle London between the Quagmire's Bookstore and the Pullman Records in 19th St at 9:00 tomorrow morning._

_I dearly hope that you'd consider my request._

Respectfully,  
Albus Dumbledore  
Headmaster

-

Buffy stared at it with awe, reading and rereading it again. _A favor?_ She doesn't even know this…Dumbledore and yet he was asking her for one. Nevertheless, a growing curiosity started in the back of her mind.

_Growing danger, huh?_

If what he said was true, then they better be prepared for the worst. No matter who said it. Buffy was so deep in her thought that she didn't notice Dawn snatch the letter away so she too could read it again.

The Slayer sat back down. _A teaching position?_ The notion of _her_ teaching students was completely laughable. Sure, she taught the Slayers how to patrol, handle weaponry, and those sort of things, but that was training…and they were slayers. Not students.

But still—she was stopped out of her reverie when Dawn sat down next to her.

"Are you going?" it was a simple question yet it held so many other questions.

Was she going to help the Wizard World, a world they now only knew existed? Was she going to leave Home Base (and everyone in it) to teach in this Hogwarts School? Was she going to meet this Dumbledore guy tomorrow? Was she going to leave the place they just started to call _home_?

Buffy took a moment to look at Dawn and sighed. "I…don't know. I'll probably come to this place if this Bumblebee—" the owl suddenly hooted indignantly but Buffy and Dawn ignored it, "-guy is for real. Better safe than sorry, I guess."

"And if it is?" Dawn asked.

The Slayer merely shrugged again. "I still have a lot of stuff to do here. Train the Slayers and all that jazz. But if it IS real, I might…," Buffy trailed off.

"Help them?" her sister finished, though it was more of a question than a statement. Buffy nodded in response.

They lapsed into another moment of silence, although it was more awkward than before. The owl hooted loudly, clearly annoyed at having to wait for its service for so long. They both looked at the bird before Dawn stood up and went inside to get a bowl of water for the owl.

Buffy looked down at the letter, still trying to decide on what to do. _Oh, what the hell?_ She took out a pen and wrote out her response on a strip of paper she tore out.

Dawn came back outside with Albert's water and gave it to him. The Slayer rolled the small paper and awkwardly gave it to Albert after he finished drinking, unsure of what to do next. He looked at the minute scroll with incredulous eyes before he snatched it with its claws and took flight.

The Summers sisters look at the flying owl.

"Guess we'll know tomorrow then," Dawn told her flippantly.

"Guess so," Buffy agreed before they went inside.

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**A/N: **So here's the second chapter. It's more of a filler, but at least I've gotten started on Buffy's decision on going to Hogwarts. Review as always!

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**Special Thanks to:**

buffyfan363 awwww…thanks so much! I will continue on Pandora's Box so keep an eye out for it!

DevilsTears blushes thanks! Although…I will admit that I have grammar errors that still needs to be fixed, but I try to improve my writing. Its comments like these that keeps me going! Thanks again!

Jay lol! I don't have any plans on making a shipper in the story. Many have been telling me to do a Sirius/ Buffy one, but I am not sure. I'll try to keep an open mind though and if something for Remus clicks, I might go on that road…but I'm not making any promises.

sonofgloin thanks! And I WILL be expecting the reviews…just kidding! Again, thank you so much for your review!

And to **spike-is-a-hottie-4-ever, Dreamer Child, RE16, justblue, **and **alien **thank you so much for the reviews! Some of you have said to turn this fic into a Sirius/ Buffy shipper, but I am not even remotely sure of doing a shipper. But like I said on Jay's review, I'll keep an open mind for everything, and if something clicks I might go on that road…but I'm not making any promises.

REVIEW some more!

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_edited on 8-17-05_


	3. The Proof in the Leaky Cauldron

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Harry Potter. All of the characters, settings, themes, books, show, titles, worlds, names, demons, witches, slayers, creation, references, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong the Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., and of course, J.K. Rowling. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Story is set 1 year after Season 7 and five days before Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. Just for possible future references, the story will be happening during Angel's Season 5.

**Author's Note: (Mucho Important) **Okay, so a lot of people have been asking me what shippers I'm doing. The truth is, I absolutely **_DO NOT KNOW_**! I wasn't planning on making one BUT if I get a vibe from any characters, I MIGHT go that road. But please keep in mind that I will not be keeping any promises with that. Now that's done, thanks for the review, guys! Keep 'em coming!

**-**

**---**

Chapter 3—The Proof in the Leaky Cauldron

**---**

**-**

Buffy gloomily sat at the table.

Waking up this early in the morning just to check if this Bumblebee fellow wasn't a hoax, should be illegal, she cursed darkly. It didn't help her mood improve either when she realized that London was way over to the eastern side of England while Bath was down in the southwest and she needed to get an early start before the busy hour rush started.

The Slayer looked down at her cold toast before releasing a loud sigh, "Nyeh…"

"Well somebody woke up bright and early," a voice quipped merrily. Too merrily in fact.

Buffy turned to see Xander grinning at her at the door frame. "Its actually foggy outside and I would consider this late. Very, _very_ late," she pointedly told him, before grinning as well. "'_Evening_, Xand."

It was rare to see Xander around the house during daytime.

After they'd completed renovating the house, he was quickly offered a job by a construction company because of his impressive background experiences and he in turn gladly took it. From then on, there were promotions, job offers, and huge projects that more often than not caused him to work overnight. But Buffy knew she could still count on him to be there when the time grows dire.

Xander smiled at his best friend and sat on the chair next to her. "So what's the what, oh-friend-of-mine? You never wake up this…late."

The Slayer took out the letter and gave it to him. "Got that from an owl yesterday. It sent out some weird vibes, but then again, I've been slaying in the Hellmouth."

Xander's eyes glazed over at the memory of their old home. Buffy suddenly found the urge to smack her head at her friend's quick change of demeanor and hurriedly changed the subject. "Anyways, I'm going to London to check that Bumble guy and see if it's all true."

Her friend's eyebrows shot up after he read the later. He looked up at Buffy and asked, "Have you asked G-man about this?"

Buffy nodded as she took a bite off her toast. "I asked him about it last night. He said he heard about Pig's Boil one time during his Ripper days while doing the 'meddling with dark magic' thing. He wasn't too sure if it was safe for me to go to London all by me onesies, but then again, Slayer," she shrugged as she pointed at herself.

"Are you going to—," Xander started, but Buffy finished for him.

"—this school if it's all real?" he nodded. Buffy sighed as she placed her bread back to her plate. "I really don't know, Xand. I've got tons…loads of tons to do here, but it reminds me so much of our battle with the First. Having to train the Slayers 'til the end of my days is something I just can't…don't want to be doing. Especially when I have to do so many speeches," Xander laughed. "But I don't want leave here. I don't wanna leave _home_. Do you think that's selfish? Not wanting to do my destiny that is?"

Xander shook his head after contemplating what to say. "No Buff. It makes you human; if there isn't a tiny bit of selfishness in a person, wouldn't the person be bordering masochism? Besides, we all yearn what we cannot have," a pointed look from her made him grin sheepishly. "I've been reading. You'll know what to do, Buff. You always have been and always will be, and rest assure that the Xand-man and the rest of the Scoobs will do the supporting-the-Slayer gig with what you choose. You have a choice here Buffy. All's you have to do is pick one."

Buffy smiled gratefully at him. Xander smiled back and read the letter again. "So…you'll be teaching then, eh? Who would've thunk?"

Buffy smacked him playfully before laughing along with him.

**-**

**---**

**-**

**Downtown London, 19th Street**

**- **

The Slayer pulled up her shades and placed it on her forehead before wiping of the sweat caused by the weather with disgust. She was quite surprised when she realized that England was pretty warm during the summer and even more so when there was less rain than she thought there would.

Buffy was cut out of her thoughts when someone bumped into her. The stranger didn't even look back, much less apologize, which made Buffy even crankier.

"Idiot," she muttered lowly under her breath, careful not to be heard by the other passing Englishmen. She sighed loudly and read the letter once more.

"Well I'm right here at the Quagmire's Bookstore and Pullman Records at-," she glanced at her watch"-Oh lookie, a minute late. Where the hell are you, Bumblebee?"

Buffy got a couple of looks from some of the passing people, but she completely ignored them. She finally noticed a small dingy shop _between_ the two stores which took her completely by surprise.

Buffy cocked her head thoughtfully. _Was that there before?_

Nobody else seemed to notice the small building either so she guessed that this was where Bumble meant. Buffy took a closer look at the sign that was attached to the wall.

_The Leaky Cauldron._

_Odd. _She shook her head at the name but realized she'd seen weirder signs before so she entered to store with a shrug. The Slayer quickly realized that it was more than just a store when she got inside.

An incredible amount of magic quickly overwhelmed her when she went in. Even though she was no Willow, the Slayer part of her could still feel the magic surrounding her and its magnitude shocked her completely.

It was then she knew that everything she read in the letter must be true. There was no hoax, no trick, but the real thing.

She took a good look around her when she finally got used to the power that emitted off the very walls of the bar. The whole room was as dingy as it was outside, although the candles that were floating around considerably brightened up the room.

_Wait, floating! How…oh yeah, magic_, Buffy reminded herself.

She looked around the room and saw several people-witches and wizards, she corrected-drinking and milling around. Some were even going in and out of the back. But there was one thing that kept going around her head.

_Where is this Dumbledore?_

Her question was soon answered when an aged wizard came up to her. "Miss Summers?" he asked.

Buffy looked at him, surprised at the powerful energy that came out of him.

She flashed him a smile before raising her hand to shake his. "The one and only. You must Bumblebee."

Dumbledore laughed merrily before shaking her hand. "It's Dumbledore, my dear. Would you like to sit down so we could discuss our…situation?" he politely invited her. Buffy followed him to a table near the fireplace and sat down.

"So, what do you want from me?" Buffy asked bluntly when they settled down. "You know that I only came here just to see if this wasn't a practical joke, and by the looks of things, it isn't. So why me? Why not another wizard or witch to do the gig?"

Although Dumbledore was listening keenly to her question, he was still ordering a couple of butterbeers for him and his hopefully future co-worker. The waitress left after jotting down their orders and went to get their ordered drinks. "It would all be easier for you to understand, Miss Summers-"

"Just 'Buffy' would be fine," she interrupted rudely but Dumbledore ignored her tone.

"-Buffy," he continued. "If you knew the whole story."

He began telling her about one of the most powerful and evil wizard that ever lived. Buffy flinched inwardly at the gruesome details at what he did and became more and more curious at what her place in this whole situation was.

"And where do I fit in all of this?" she asked him after he finished telling about Voldemort. "It looks like this Viddlewart went down 13 years ago, so why do you need me?"

The waitress came back with the amber liquid. "Here you go, Professors. Two butterbeers on the house, Professor Dumbledore, sir."

"Thank you, Miss Julian," Dumbledore handed the blonde her drink, who looked at it curiously before taking a taste test. Finding it surprisingly sweet and tasting more like root beer than actual beer, Buffy proceeded to drink it in larger quantities.

Dumbledore sighed sadly, even after witnessing the amusing sight. "Alas Buffy, this is when it gets complicated. You see, 12 years ago, _Voldemort_ tried to kill the Potters, a very close friends of mine. He only succeeded on killing Lily and James, but failed to murder their year old son, Harry."

"You mean a baby is the reason why Warty's dead?" Buffy asked incredulously.

_Talk about major power._

"Indeed. Though young Harry is known to be the defeater of the Dark Lord, in truth, he didn't entirely kill him, more like disembodied him from his power."

"How?"

"It's a tale for another time and for someone else to tell, I'm afraid. Anyways, I've found proof that Voldemort is trying to regain his lost power for the last couple of years. His attempts are growing ever more strongly and this is where you come in."

"Do I now?" Buffy said mildly, fingering her butterbeer bottle with interest.

The wizard nodded, eyebrows quirking at her attempt to look casual. "His attempts to regain power happened both times in my school. Though the School Council still believe that Voldemort is dead, they think that stronger reinforcements are necessary to keep the students safe, but some of their suggestions are far too dangerous and farfetched to even think about doing.

"So I came up with the idea of having you, the Slayer, to be at Hogwarts in case another attack happens. You're extraordinary power and legendary skills have almost been reduced to a myth, but there are those who know better." A slight twinkle glinted in his blue eyes.

"Aww, shucks," Buffy blushed, "but what makes you think that I'll even accept at going to Pig's Boil?"

Dumbledore chuckled at the unusual names she keeps on coming up with. "I've heard of what you and your friends have done in the Hellmouth. Your friend had activated all of the Potential Slayers in the world, but there are still some key parts to your school that are lacking. The old Watcher's Council had a significant amount of Watchers and resources, to train the Chosen One but now that it has been destroyed, much of those resources are lost.

"I know several ways and many contacts that will be able to help you with your predicament. Help me protect my school and in return for your cooperation, I will be more than happy to help the Slayers in whichever way I can. I assure you, I repay everything I am indebted to."

Buffy thought it over. Maybe going to teach in Hogwarts may not be such a bad idea after all. True it's a 'you'll scratch my back and I'll scratch yours' situation, but it's also a win-win situation, isn't it?

Plus, it's just teaching and protecting a school. How hard could that be? Granted, she DID blow up a gym, a school, and a whole damn town during her duty as a Slayer, but really…

Buffy suddenly froze. Taking this job would mean that she would have to leave her old one. Could she just leave her friends like that? Dawn? And what about the others? How would they deal with her absence?

Feelings of turmoil began to appear and Buffy nearly groaned with annoyance at her confusing feelings. _To be, or not to be? That IS the messed up question._

_You have choice…_ Xander's voice suddenly echoed in her head.

Buffy looked at Dumbledore who was looking at her with trusting eyes and suddenly everything became clear. With their earlier conversation ringing in her head, she realized what she had to do and with a resolved face gave out a nervous sigh. "Okay I'm in. You've just gotten yourself a Slayer, Professor. Quick question though, what am I teaching? I'm sure that you know I have never taught an actual class before. And foreign language isn't exactly my forte."

The old wizard laughed. "Physical Defense, a new subject that I set up that will better suit your capabilities. I'm quite sure that you are no witch yourself, and I highly doubt you would want to be cleaning the castle as a job, so why not teach the students something new?"

"True…but how do you know I'm not a witch? I could be just late in the magic arena, you know," Buffy pointed out to him, slightly miffed.

"It is a possibility that you have received you magical abilities a little late, though highly unlikely. Second, it is extremely rare for a witch to become a Slayer. In fact, the last witch to be Chosen was over a century ago and it didn't end well for her either.

"Since the power of the Slayer was forged out of darkness," Buffy slightly flinched when she remembered the Dracula incident, "the Slayer part of the witch will want to dominate over her Magic side and it will be an ever going battle between the two. This will put her humanity in a precarious situation and the ending, suffice to say, is never well," he quickly explained.

Buffy nodded in understanding.

"Now, I assume that you will need to close some matters back in Bath, correct?" Buffy nodded again. "Why don't you come back here on Saturday to buy your necessities for the school year? One of my colleagues will be able to meet here and will be happy to assist you."

The Slayer thought over it carefully. Saturday...today's Thursday, so that would mean... "ONE DAY! You're giving me a _day _to say goodbye?"

Dumbledore flinched at the volume of her voice but was unfazed at the icy glare he received. "I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience, Buffy. But you will need time to create a lesson plan, settle down in Hogwarts, and learn the Wizard World."

Buffy pouted but she knew Dumbledore had a point. "Fine. I'll be here in a couple of days. Who's my guide?"

"His name is Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts. He knows of your situation as well as the rest of the staff at the school, though I would still suggest you'd avoid openly telling everyone of your position just yet," he instructed.

Dumbledore suddenly looked like he remembered something and took out a small golden key. "This is your key to your Gringott's Vault. I believe the Council has a bank account over there and it will certainly make things easier for you on Saturday. Hagrid will help you get your money to buy your necessities."

Buffy took the key and looked at it curiously. "Anymore things I should be getting?"

Dumbledore pondered for awhile before he asked for the letter. The Slayer gave it to him, wondering what he was going to do with it. The wizard took out what seemed to be his wand and muttered, "_Portus_" before giving it back with a smile.

Buffy took it warily and gave him a look. "This will take you to your front yard in, ahh…right about now," he replied quickly.

The Slayer was about to ask him about it when a sudden tugging sensation on her navel happened. A blur of colors passed her by and the horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach grew steadily.

It ended as soon as it started and Buffy found herself landing ungracefully on their front yard, even with her Slayer reflexes.

Buffy turned herself around so she was lying on her back. "I'll get you for that one, Bumble," she muttered under her breath before pushing herself up.

**-**

**---**

**-**

**Bath, England. Home Base**

**- **

"Yo Dawn!" Faith called out to the young brunette. She just arrived from the airport along with the new Slayers when she heard that Buffy wasn't here. Dawn turned around and stopped walking when she saw the Slayer.

"Hey Faith. How was your flight?" Faith quickly caught up with her and they started walking once more.

"Five by five, little D. Anyways, I heard Buffy was gone. You know where she is?" Dawn nodded.

"She went to London to check something out. She'll be probably back around—huh, now," Dawn suddenly added when her sister came out the door, surprised at how quickly her sister came back home.

Faith also looked at the door and found the blonde Slayer looking at them with uncertainty.

…

_Here goes nothing. _Buffy took a deep breath and walked towards the pair. "I need to talk to you. In my room," she added hastily, when a couple of newbies passed by them.

Faith and Dawn looked at each other before following Buffy up the stairs. They passed Giles along the second floor and Buffy also dragged him along. The group finally made up to the Slayer's room and all were curious at Buffy's strange behavior.

Buffy closed the doors and all the questions they were dying to ask finally erupted.

"Buffy, what is this all about?"

"Something happened B?"

"Oh, please don't tell me it's another apocalypse?"

But she ignored them all until the questions died down.

_It's now or never_.

She took another deep breath and finally said. "You guys know of the letter right?" A couple of nods and a shake of the head was her answer. "Well, I took the job."

Another round of questions erupted and the blonde slayer had to wait longer than last time before it all eventually died down. Buffy explained everything to them, from the letter to Dumbledore, from the school to what she was teaching, and to Voldemort and how the Headmaster was going to help their training.

An awkward pause followed afterwards and Buffy didn't know how to break the silence.

"So, you're leaving. On Saturday," Dawn finally said quietly. Her arms were crossed and her green eyes looking at hers for the truth.

Buffy nodded slowly, not breaking the eye contact from her sister. "I am. I don't want to leave so soon, Dawnie, but I have to. I wish you could come with me to this Hogwarts school, but you've got Oxford."

It was Dawn's turn to nod slowly. Before she could say anything else, Dawn flung herself at her sister and gave her a crushing hug. Buffy closed her eyes and hugged her back.

"You know I'll miss you, right?"

Dawn nodded again. "Write tons, okay?" Buffy promised before releasing her.

"Wait, if you're leaving, who's staying here to train the Slayers?" Buffy looked at Faith pointedly. The brunette Slayer got the meaning and went into denial. "You're shitting me right! I have Cleveland back in the States, B! And I can't train the Slayers! The last time I did, I almost killed them! I'm not ready for this! Holy shit."

When Faith finally calmed down, Buffy pointedly told her, "You're the one who's been complaining every time at how the Hellmouth in Cleveland was completely dead, remember? You can train the girls, Faith. You helped lead the girls that saved the world. You can do this. Besides, its your turn to make the speeches."

Faith chuckled before nodding. However, she was still uncertain at the sudden turn of events. "I don't know, Buff, but you're the boss."

"Not anymore," Buffy replied with a smirk. "You'll do fine, Faith. I trust you."

The other Slayer smiled at the reassurance. For so long she'd tried to gain the older Slayer's respect and trust and now that she got it, it felt like a heavy weight was lifted off her shoulders.

No more guilt, no worries, just the feeling of reassurance.

"And I got your back."

Buffy turned to her Watcher who was standing in the back. "Giles I—"

"I'm extremely proud of you, Buffy," Giles interrupted. "Know that I will be here for you, even though I wasn't always. No matter what you do, what you choose, what you end up with, I'll be here no matter what. You've made me grateful more than once that I became a Watcher. But for God's sakes, be careful there."

Buffy grinned and hugged Giles. "Oh, you know me Giles. Danger _never_ comes looking for me. I'll be back before you know it."

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**A/N: **That, ladies and gents, is one of the longest chapters I've ever written. Anyways, expect Buffy to see the real deal in Diagon Alley next chapter. Until then, review as always!

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**Special Thanks To:**

**anjela wolfe** You've brought up some pretty interesting points that I have not even paid close attention at. One of them is that I didn't even know, much less realize, that Harry and Buffy would be the same age at this time. I would blame it on the time difference of the release of the books and the release of the episodes on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. However, since it works out fine in this story, I'm just shrugging it off. The other one is that you've said that the Leaky Cauldron was probably located at Chaffing Cross in London. Again, I wouldn't have known this because it was never truly said in the books. I just :smiles sheepishly: made up the name of the stores that it 'supposedly' surrounded the pub. It said in the Sorcerer's Stone (pg. 68; Ch5) that _"Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all." _This was as far as J.K. Rowling described the Leaky Cauldron's location in London. Anyways, thanks for the review, and it really did put out some points I didn't even notice. Thanks!

**Eden's Echo **I hope the scene with Xander answered your question. To tell you the truth, I wrote that scene to _actually_ answer it plus, I guess I needed it as well. Like I said before to other reviewers, I am not entirely sure on making a shipper, for anyone in the matter. Though I am a spuffy shipper like you, I am still open to doing other ones such as Buffy/Sirius or B/Remus and other suggestions. True that too many authors do that kind of romance thing, but I am planning (and hoping) that I wouldn't do it. It just wouldn't be…believable, you know?

**mj** okay…I'm getting asked by this too many a time. I am not sure on making any shippers for the story, but if I do get something with Spike again, I _might _go on that road. Though I am still not making any promises. I hope that a couple of the scenes with Dumbledore answered your last few questions plus, if you have watched Angel, you would know that Spike is indefinitely back. Good ol' vamp.

**Jay **thanks! Click the review button so I would know what you think of this chapter, k?

**sonofgloin **lol! Well, at least I've got the proof that my writing skills HAVE been improving. Anyways, I'm happy that you liked the Dawn and Buffy scene from the last chapter. I just hope that it'll be the same with Buffy's interaction with Dumbledore. Okay…so I admit it that Dumbledore _blackmailed _Buffy a little bit, but that doesn't mean he's evil…sorta…

And to **charmedfanatic3000 **and** manticore-gurl071134 **thanks for the review guys! Really appreciate your reviews!

REVIEW!

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_edited on 8-17-05_


	4. The Escape

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Harry Potter. All of the characters, settings, themes, books, show, titles, worlds, names, demons, witches, slayers, creation, references, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong the Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., and of course, J.K. Rowling. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Story is set 1 year after Season 7 and five days before Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. Just for possible future references, the story will be happening during Angel's Season 5.

**Author's Note: **Whoohoo! Thanks for the review guys! Don't stop sending them in. Up next: Good ol' Buff finally meets Hagrid and sees what lies behind the Leaky Cauldron. Literally. Now go on! Read to find out more! Oh and several cookie points if you know the movie I'm talking about later on.

**-**

**---**

Chapter 4—The Escape

---

-

Friday went by quickly; much too quickly for Buffy's taste. The gang decided to leave Buffy's departure partly told to the Slayers to keep things simple, saying that she went for a vacation and will be back in the following summer.

Faith was officially appointed as the new 'head teacher' and the Slayers took the new change with little question. Even Xander called in sick just to hang out with them.

The Scoobies helped Buffy pack her clothes, while Andrew, who filmed through all of it, made some quirky commentaries while they did and almost ended up being thrown out of the window.

Finally, Saturday came and it was time for Buffy to leave. She was about to call a cab to take her to London when another owl came in an open window. Andrew, Faith, Xander, and Giles were startled at the strange entrance of the bird but Buffy and Dawn calmed them down.

The Slayer took the package away from the owl that she recognized as Albert and gave him some bread before he flew away. She opened the package without caution when she saw Dumbledore's familiar handwriting. A purple, velvet pouch came out along with a letter with a small message:

-

"_The pouch enclosed is a Portkey. It will take you directly to the Leaky Cauldron and will leave at exactly 9:30 A.M. Hold on to the pouch and your baggage tightly. _

–_Albus Dumbledore."_

-

"Wicked," Faith muttered lowly as she read over Buffy's shoulders. The blonde Slayer took no notice and looked at her watch. It read 9:29, giving her exactly a minute to get her final goodbyes done.

She turned to her small group of friends with a shaky smile. "Guess this is it guys," they all smiled sadly, knowing that it would be long before they see her again. Buffy turned to her sister and said, "Take care, Dawnie."

Her sister merely nodded, unable to say anything else. Buffy smiled once more before holding on to the pouch and her luggage tightly. The sudden tugging sensation happened again and her friend's faces disappeared in a blur of colors.

**-**

**---**

**-**

**The Leaky Cauldron**

**-**

Buffy reappeared in the familiar pub and caught herself before she could fall again on the hard ground. She was about to cheer to herself for her small feat when a large man suddenly towered her.

A very large, hairy man.

Buffy was about to ask him what he wanted but he beat her to it.

"Yer Miss Summers, I presume?" he asked her, his thick beard making his voice sound gruff. Buffy had to crane her neck to get a better view of his face.

"Yes…and you would be…?"

"Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys in the grounds of Hogwarts. 'Tis a pleasure tah finally meet yeh, Professor Summers. Now, it would be best to check yeh in 'fore we go to Diagon Alley. Come this way," Hagrid instructed her, the gruffness from his voice was replaced by a smile.

Buffy stared at his retreating back before picking up her bags. Dumbledore never said her 'helper' would be gigantic! Literally.

When she finally caught up to him, he looked at her bags surprise. "Oh, begging yer pardon, Professor! I'll help yeh with yer luggage."

Buffy smiled at him but shook her head. "Don't worry about it Hagrid. I can carry it, being me as the Sla- I mean being me and all," she lamely corrected herself. Hagrid smiled at her knowingly. "Plus, you're already helping me with my shopping and stuff so it's fine. And it's just Buffy."

"Its common courtesy is what it is, Prof- Buffy. But if yeh insist," he shrugged. They finally came up to a bartender who Buffy guessed was the owner of the Leaky Cauldron.

He spotted them coming and greeted them both with toothy grin.

"Good morning, Hagrid! And I'm bettin' this is Professor Summers, correct?" the Slayer nodded slowly, surprised at how he knew her name. "Dumbledore told me 'bout you," he said, as if he heard her question. "Good wizard that man is, but he never did say the new professor was a pretty one! Anyways, he asked me to reserve yeh a room in 'ere. It'll be the second door to yer left in the third floor. I would lead yeh up there but customers," he pointed at the incoming witches and wizards as he offered them the key.

"Don't worry about it, Tom. I'll lead _Professor_ Summers to her room," Hagrid said with a wink to Buffy, emphasizing on her title. He took the key from Tom and lead Buffy to her room.

After Buffy dropped off her bags, Hagrid led her to the back of the Leaky Cauldron. "Mind telling me why we're here, Hags?"

Hagrid simply took out a pink umbrella and started tapping the brick wall in front of them. Buffy arched her brow and was about to ask him about it when the brick wall started to move. It opened a gap that was large enough to let two Hagrids pass by with little discomfort. But it was what behind the wall that made Buffy's jaw drop.

"Welcome Buffy, to Diagon Alley."

It took the Slayer a second to finally compose of herself. "I'll never get used to this magic everywhere thing, am I?"

Hagrid chuckled at her complaint and started to lead her through the cobbled road. "Now, I suppose ye'll be needin' to withdraw from the Council's bank account in Gringotts before yeh buy anythin' else. Yeh got yer key and the pouch?"

Buffy took out the two items. "Double check," she said.

Buffy suddenly wished that they could walk so much slower, or be a tad bit taller. The sights and sounds around her completely attracted her attention.

From the store that sold animals, to ones that solf cauldrons, to the potions store and to others that she didn't have time to get a glimpse at. She finally gave up trying and vowed herself to visit every store before she had to leave the Leaky Cauldron.

"So, where's this 'bank' I keep on hearing about?"

A large, white building suddenly towered them, with the words: _'Gringotts Wizardry Bank' _imprinted in bold black right above a set of doors.

Hagrid chuckled once more at her reaction. Buffy glared at him playfully before muttering lowly, "Shut it, Chuckles."

He must've heard what she said since he laughed even louder. The Slayer shook her head at him and they both walked closer to the building. As they did, Buffy noticed a creature standing next to the set of doors and visibly tensed when she recognized it.

"It's a goblin, Buffy. They run the whole bank so it' best to keep yer…strength in check, if you get my meanin'," he muttered lowly to her.

When they finally reached him, the goblin merely bowed and opened the doors to let them through. Instead of entering the bank, they faced another set of doors with words written on them.

"'_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there',"_

_  
_Buffy read out loud and turned to Hagrid incredulously. "You guys have serious issues with your doors," she said with a shake of her head before entering the bank.

What greeted her was something she did not expect. A large marble hall appeared in front of them and hundreds more goblins came bustling in and out of numerous doors.

Hagrid led her to the nearest open ledger where a goblin stared at them with a pair of beady eyes. "What can I do for you today?" he drawled in a bored tone. Hagrid nudged Buffy when she didn't speak.

"Oh yeah!"—the goblin rolled its eyes—"Um, I'm here to make an…uh…withdrawal," Buffy stammered an explanation.

"And do _you_ have your key?" it sneered at her.

Buffy was about to teach him a thing or two about customer rights before Hagrid cleared his throat loudly. Instead of punching the lights out of him, Buffy smiled forcibly and showed him her key.

The goblin took it and looked at the key with narrowed eyes.

"Everything seems to be in order, Miss," he muttered gruffly before handing it back to her. "Pindemkin!" he called to a goblin. "Take these two to vault 213."

The goblin nodded at him before he called Buffy and Hagrid to follow him. "Erm, I think I'll stay here and wait fer yeh Buffy. The cart drives to the vaults gets me a bit green in the gills," Hagrid quickly explained.

Buffy pouted but nodded in understanding. Really, who wanted a puking passenger anyways?

"Okay. See ya later, Hags," said Buffy before following the goblin.

They indeed went for a twisting cart ride and Buffy quickly understood at how Hagrid could've gotten sick. Fortunately for her, the Slayer stamina helped her get through it and the kid inside of her was just squealing with delight at the roller coaster type ride. They finally stopped in front of an opening, and the goblin along with the Slayer got out of the cart.

"Vault 213. Just insert your key in the hole, Miss," he instructed.

_At least he's nicer_, Buffy thought to herself while she walked towards the wall.

She found the hole he was talking about and inserted the key. Buffy realized that she didn't have to turn the key since the key itself twisted and opened the door to her money with a loud creak.

Piles of gold, silver, and bronze coins appeared and once again, Buffy was awestruck. "Woah…I'm loaded," she added with a grin. "So, how does the money go around here, short stuff?"

The goblin beside her harrumphed indignantly and narrowed its eyes. "The gold ones are Galleons, silver are Sickles, and the bronze are Knuts. 17 Sickles to a Galleon and 29 Knuts to a Sickle. _Everyone,_ knows that," sneered Pindemkin.

_On second thought, maybe there really ISN'T a nice goblin_, Buffy thought darkly.

She looked around at her vault, wishing that it could be just paper money instead of coins. Buffy was still confused at the currency but nonetheless grabbed a whole bunch of coins randomly and placed it in the purple pouch. When she was finished, she grabbed the key and went back to the cart.

Pindemkin drove the cart up again, and in no time, they were up to the main room.

Buffy rushed up to greet Hagrid. "Yeh finished, Buffy?"

"Well…since all I had to do was get a whole bunch of coins…yeah, I'm pretty much done in Goblin Central," Buffy replied back as they walked towards the exit.

The wizards-and-witches-filled-streets of Diagon Alley appeared once more before them. "So what to buy first…?"

…

The two set out to buy everything that they could possibly think of that Buffy would need to teach Physical Defense. They bought things from quills to parchment and from furniture to candles. They even went to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasion to design an outfit for the students especially made for her subject.

Hagrid suggested on basing the color of the uniforms on their House colors; green for Slytherin, scarlet for Gryffindor, yellow for Hufflepuffs, and blue for Ravenclaws.

The first years will buy a plain black outfit but the uniform was charmed to turn into their House colors after they were sorted.

This lead to a conversation about Hogwarts and its Houses, and eventually, it ended up with Hagrid explaining the 'wizard lingo' to Buffy.

With their arms filled with bought items, they made a final stop at Eeylops Owl Emporium to get Buffy an owl. The Slayer took a good look around her, the smells and sounds of birds hitting her at once.

She scanned the room looking for the right pet, stopping occasionally to look at an owl more closely. Her eyes finally landed on an owl that was lurking behind a pair of tawny and barn owls.

Buffy walked closer to the honey colored owl, its brown eyes looking back at hers as if daring her to walk closer.

"I'll take that one," she pointed at the owl. The shop keeper gave her the owl along with the cage and Buffy paid 3 Galleons for the bird.

"What's the next stop, Hagrid?" Buffy asked as they looked for more stores they hadn't gone yet.

As nighttime grew nearer, many of the shops they passed were closing in for the night so there was no real use of buying anymore. True they were only shopping for school supplies, but Buffy was still in too good of a mood to give a damn.

Hagrid looked thoughtful for a moment before answering, "Not that I know of. But I'm sure that you can find some of the things yer missing in Hogsmead. It's the last real wizard settlement left in Britain and it's just a short distance from Hogwarts. 'Sides, its getting a bit dark out here, so we're gonna have to end our shoppin' now and go back to the Leaky Cauldron."

And so back they went to Buffy's room in the Leaky Cauldron where they dropped all of her bags. Hagrid turned to leave before he suddenly remembered something.

"'Ere's yer ticket to the Hogwarts Express. It's at King's Cross, just a few blocks down from here and it leaves at 11:00 on Tuesday. There'll be a barrier between platforms 9 and 10 but all yeh hafta do is go through it and ye'll be there," he instructed simply as he gave her the ticket.

Buffy raised her brow.

"Just…go through the barrier?"

Hagrid nodded as if it's the simplest thing to do. "See yeh at Hogwarts, Buffy," he said before turning around and leaving her room.

After he left, Buffy turned and started to look through the things she bought. She knew that there were some things that she still needed to get for her class, but she highly doubted that any of the wizardry shops here or in Hogsmead sold half the things she had back in Bath for the Slayers. Buffy decided to look in the shops in Muggle London tomorrow.

With a decisive sigh, she stopped shifting through the robes she bought from Madam Malkins. Even though she detest on wearing them profusely, Hagrid some how managed to convince her to buy a pair to wear on special occasions such as the first day of school.

Buffy placed back the light blue robe in the bag and turned to her owl.

"You know what will be great, Mr. Gordo?" the owl hooted, already knowing his name. Buffy started to put her shopping bags away in the corner. "A nice, long, hot bath."

"And I good cleaning around here too!" someone exclaimed. Buffy whipped around suddenly but found no one save for herself and Mr. Gordo in the room.

"Who said that?"

"Why me of course!" Buffy walked closer to where the voice was coming from. "Honestly, haven't you ever _seen _a talking mirror before?" mirror said incredulously.

"Only the one with the witch and seven dwarves during the whatsits century," Buffy replied, still shocked at the talking mirror in front of her.

"Oh, _that _mirror," its voice full of annoyance. "Harold, may he rot in a garbage bin, still have the fame stuck up in his thick head ever since he was asked about his part with the old hag, Malodora Grymm, during the Medieval Ages. He always rants about how dreadful Malodora was and how he was _forced _to tell her about the princess so she could poison her! With an apple no less! Harold can go for hours just describing about the beauty of that girl. '_Her hair black as ebony, lips red as blood, and skin white as snow'_," it said in a deep mocking voice. "If _I _didn't know better I think he would like to marry that girl. Anyway, if you want to see _Harold _he's downstairs in Room 15," the mirror finished with a huff.

"Uhn…okay…," Buffy finally said, not sure of what to say after that. "I'm gonna…go now." She quickly rounded to the bathroom but suddenly turned when she thought of something.

"Do mirrors even _have_ heads?"

**-**

**---**

**-**

**Sunday**

**-**

Morning came slowly and for once, Buffy didn't wake up to teach the Slayers. She rolled over the mattress sleepily, enjoying the last moments of lingering rest before it went away, coming back only when nighttime came. Even Mr. Gordo was still asleep, his head tucked under his wing. Buffy sighed luxuriously.

Nothing could possibly go wrong today.

"G'MORNING, SLEEPYHEAD!" the mirror screeched suddenly.

_So much for nothing_, Buffy groaned in her head.

The mirror's sudden greeting also startled Mr. Gordo, who glared at the direction of the mirror before hooting at Buffy.

"You better get up and feed that blasted owl of yours," the mirror said darkly. "It never fits well in the room with a bird hooting all bloody day."

Mr. Gordo glared at the mirror again, understanding fully well what it said.

Buffy rolled her eyes at it. _It never fits well with a fist on a mirror either_, she retorted to herself. Nonetheless, she got up and fed the owl, who hooted gratefully before eating the pellets, glowering time to time at the arrogant mirror.

The mirror started talking about the backside of having a pet, where in both Mr. Gordo and Buffy contented themselves on blocking the annoying voice of the snobbish mirror out of their heads.

The Slayer sat down at on a chair next to a table and her owl's cage and wondered what to do.

Buying the extra supplies would probably be mandatory, so shopping in muggle London was a must then. Buffy grinned at the thought of shopping again but a low growl in her stomach caught her attention.

But breakfast needs to come first. _The_ _essential key to getting a day started_, she mused.

"…and all the mess they leave around! Ugh, I can't imagine a muggle's life without magic to clean those up…!" Buffy heard the mirror talk in the back.

She turned to Mr. Gordo, who was looking sulky at the ongoing rant of the mirror.

_Poor guy_.

Buffy took out a piece of parchment and quill, and after several tries on writing with a bird feather, decided to write the gang to spare the bird's sanity.

_-_

'_Hey guys!_  
_  
Do you mind on keeping Mr. Gordo (my owl. Isn't he pretty?) until this afternoon? I know it would've been easier on talking to you on the phone instead of writing a letter (stupid quill…), but I have a talking mirror in here that won't keep its mouth shut about pet cons. _

_Speaking of which, everything about the magic world is actually true. Oh, and Willow, if you're reading this, yes, there are broomsticks that actually fly. You know, one of the 'stereo-typical' things in your list thought about witches and wizards? _

_And sorry Dawnie, I ain't getting you one. The wizard bank here is actually run by goblins. I almost decked one of them…their attitudes never cease to change. _

_Anyways, I'm leaving for Hogwarts on Tuesday, so it might be awhile until I write to you. I think Mr. Gordo will know how to find me, so just write back. Send everything on how Faith is dealing with the teaching gig, to Wills in the other side of the world._

_With Love,_  
_Buffy Summers_

_  
P.S. The Magic Mirror in Snow White is actually in the same building that I'm renting!'_

_- _

She folded the letter and wrote down the address. "You know where this goes right?" she asked Mr. Gordo. The owl cocked its head as if she asked a stupid question, but hooted in reassurance all the same. "Great! Do you mind staying there for a while? I don't know if you want to stay with the mirror over there so—good! See you later then," Buffy gave him the letter before he flew away from the room.

"Is that dratted owl of yours gone now?" the mirror drawled.

"Yes. And you will be too if you don't shut up," Buffy added sweetly before changing into a more suitable clothing for going outside.

She could already see the shining new weapons, the smell of untouched merchandise, the sounds of the cashier, the—growling sound of her stomach.

The Slayer smiled impishly at her stomach and went down to get breakfast before setting out on her shopping spree.

**-**

**---**

**-  
**  
It was once again nightfall when she arrived back in the Leaky Cauldron. Already eating dinner at a fast food restaurant in muggle London, she merely skipped through the pub and entered her room.

Buffy's arms were filled with even more items bought than yesterday, though there were more clothes than actual supplies. She was already wondering how she was going to bring all of this to Hogwarts.

After she dropped the shopping bags on the floor, she finally noticed that Mr. Gordo was back along with a letter. Opening the folded paper, she grinned as she started reading it:

_- _

'Dearest Buffy,  
_  
Your bird did give us quite a fright when it came down on us this morning. Everyone here is fine and sends their best wishes for Hogwarts. Willow's coming from her trip from Japan a bit earlier than expected, but unfortunately, she won't be able to meet you before you leave. Good luck on your job. You'll do fine. _

_-Giles'_

_- _

'Are you sure you can't get me a broom? 'Cause you know, it could be a birthday present or one of those 'best wishes in college' gifts. And besides…it IS just a broom, what harm could it POSSIBLY do?

You'll have to do this more often, Buff! This is way cooler than speaking on the phone…though I don't think the college kids in campus will really like having a bird as the new mailman. So did you meet the mirror!

_Best of luck in teaching!_

_-Dawn'_

_- _

'Surprisingly enough, B, I managed to get through the first day fine. And damn! What the hell did you tell them in the first day because they were all pulling off an 'Angel'. Anyways, I'll keep you heads up with anything going on.

_-Faith'_

-

Buffy folded the letter back up and thanked Mr. Gordo for his delivery. She was too contented with this day to let the mirror ruin it by its sarcastic remarks. Once again choosing to ignore the mirror, Buffy changed into her pajamas and slept once more on the firm mattress.

**-**

**---**

-Off the Coast of Bristol, England: The Azkaban Prison; Cell #5991

**-**

_He's in Hogwarts! He's in Hogwarts! _

The ongoing mantra was the one thing that kept his sanity with him.

_He'll kill Harry! He's with the boy! I must get to the school. Must save him! _

He half-consciously shifted to his dog form when the dementors passed by to give him his pitiful food. It was time to execute the plan.

_Need to go to Hogwarts! _

With all his will, he began to run through the dark corridors blindly. The screams of the prisoners and the wails of the innocent falsely charged almost deafened his heightened hearing, but he kept going. He dodged the passing dementors, hoping that they wouldn't realize too soon about his escape.

_Must get to him! _

The smell of fresh air amongst the dank walls suddenly became his guide. He sniffed his way around, hoping that the crisp air wouldn't fail him. Finally, as the smell of clean air almost began to overwhelm him, loud hisses and the cold eerie feeling suddenly followed him.

_The dementors knew_.

_I will NOT get back there! _

A hidden energy inside of him suddenly burst through and he ran faster than ever. He finally reached a pair of metal doors and the sound of crashing waves on the other side told him that he was near to his destination.

He knew that there won't be any wizards guarding Azkaban due to the dementors, so he didn't care about the loud banging noises he made with his head against the metal doors. At last, they too gave in to his will and swung open, revealing a sudden drop. He hesitated for a moment but the cries of the dementors closing in gave him the push he needed.

Not wasting anymore time, the dog leapt out of the hell hole that had kept him imprisoned for the past 13 years and fell.

He was falling down and time seemed to stretch on forever until the sudden coldness enveloped him; a telltale sign that told him he reached the icy waters below. His strained muscled cried for rest, but he ignored them. Time was precious and he can't waste anymore of it. He swam for miles on end until he reached the shoreline.

Still ignoring once more the pleas for rest, he staggered around, looking for some alcove he could rest in before he set out on his journey. Finally finding a suitable spot, he shifted back to his human form and for once, felt a tired grin form on his face as realization sunk in.

He did it.

He did the unthinkable.

The man breathed in deeply, hoping to calm his buzzing nerves and give rest to his tired limbs. The very air he inhaled was better than what he smelled back in that prison. Something in it simply smelled freedom; something he swore that no one will take from him falsely again.

He was the first one to have ever accomplished a feat like this.

He later will be known as the only wizard to have ever escaped Azkaban. Falsely accused as the Dark Lord's supporter, thought of as the traitor, and the mad man who killed an entire street of muggles, he was placed in a heavily guarded cell in the worst prison known to wizard kind, and yet he has escaped.

Sirius Black has escaped.

And vengeance will be sweet and most definitely served cold.

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**A/N: **Scratch out what I said last chapter. THIS is the longest chapter I've ever written. Anyways, review once more of what you think of my last scene. Please?

-->

**Special Thanks to:**

**Rood-Roosje **thanks! Okay…so you've read my little blip on the pairings last chapter right? Anyways, yup, you've guessed it! It's Sirius alright! So stick around to see what happens to dear Buff.

**Marz1 **thanks for the correction. I already changed it so that Harry was on the right age. And yeah. I guess the Defense Against the Dark Arts wouldn't really go to Buffy since she knows squat about magic, much less teach a whole class solely based on using spells to ward off their opponents. And come on, everybody knows Lupin is the best DADA teacher around the block!

**Spuffy-Love-5b5s2 **tight! I made a reader go 'wow'. Lol! I know what you mean. I dearly hope that this is as fulfilling as the last chapter, although most of it was spent on Buffy shopping around Diagon Alley. But anyways, I hope the ending was good.

**Sonofgloin **hey there! I'm glad you liked it. And no, I wasn't saying that Dumble- …you know what? We'll leave the Dumbledore issue and go to somewhere else. It is just a difference of opinion, though I did think that he was annoying with his crypti-ness during HP5. Hope I've done Sirius' escape rightly. Enjoy!

**buffy13-buffyspike4eva **an original, eh? Thanks! Anyways, thanks for the suggestion for the shipper stuff. I am still at rock bottom on which one to choose.

**Jay **come to think of it, almost all of the characters in BtVS are goofy in there own way. Buffy, Xander, Wills, and Dawn have the teenager goofiness almost throughout the show. Giles has the library plus British goofiness. And of course, Spike with being British and all (not that there's anything wrong with that) and the inner poet inside of him. I'll try to update soon, and I hope you like the Sirius seen.

And to **charmedfanatic3000 **and **Feely **Thanks for the review guys. I'll try my best to update faster, though I would suggest not counting on it. Oh, and please check on the author's notes for your other questions.

-->

_edited on 8-18-05_


	5. The Arrival

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Harry Potter. All of the characters, settings, themes, books, show, titles, worlds, names, demons, witches, slayers, creation, references, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong the Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., and of course, J.K. Rowling. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Story is set 1 year after Season 7 and five days before Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. Just for possible future references, the story will be happening during Angel's Season 5.

**Author's Note: **There's a longer note at the bottom. Please read it since its very important! Anyways, thanks for the reviews! Up next: Buffy finally arrives at Hogwarts and learns more of the reason why she's there. There will also be an appearance by…oh heck, just read more to find out!

**-**

**---**

Chapter 5—The Arrivals

---

-  
**  
Privet Drive. Monday (12:30 AM)**

-

Harry grinned as he caught sight of Hedwig flying towards him, her brilliant white feathers illuminated by the moon. Ever since the grandfather's clock from downstairs rang midnight, he had long since abandoned his usual late night studies and waited for any signs of his trusted owl.

It was one of the few moments during summer that actually made him _feel_ that he was still a part of the magic world. A feeling he always seemed to lose when he arrived back here in Privet Drive, gloomy and perfectly in an annoyed mood.

Dumbfounded, he suddenly saw three more owls flying behind her; one of which looked like it was struggling to keep up with the rest. The flock of birds finally reached his windowsill and entered his room, the struggling owl landed on his bed in a pitiful heap.

"Crooooeee," Hedwig cooed sympathetically at the bird, while another owl quickly dropped off its package along with a letter and just as quickly, took flight away from his room, obviously having much more stamina than the former bird.

The other brown owl (who Harry recognized as the school's) landed on his shoulders and gave him his annual Hogwarts packet, listing all his needed supplies before it took flight as well.

Deciding to help the poor bird first, he dropped his mail on his desk and moved towards the tired nocturnal mammal. He took off the small parcel and carried the gray owl he recognized as Errol, the Weasley's old bird, and carried him to Hedwig's cage.

"Hope you don't mind, Hedwig," he turned to his owl, "The poor bird's a bit knackered from the trip." Hedwig hooted in agreement and dropped down her package along with the others on his desk before going in her cage as well.

Harry turned to his pile of letters happily and decided to open Hedwig's delivery first as he sat on his bed. It turned out to be a letter from Hermione in Paris, reminding him to do his History of Magic essay and other homework over vacation.

A small chuckle came bubbling forth. _Only Hermione._

Enclosed in her letter was a _Broomstick Servicing Kit, _which told him all the necessities on how to keep a broom in tiptop shape. A single note was attached to it.

'_Happy Birthday, Harry'._

"Holy hell, Hermione," he muttered with a grin, knowing full well that he'd get scolded by her even if it was out of appreciation if she heard him.

Harry set aside the letter and the gift, and promised himself to check it out after reading the rest of his delivery. He opened a rather fat parcel from the Weasleys.

A small, cut-out article from the Daily Prophet fluttered out of it which said Arthur Weasley won the annual Grand Prize Galleon Draw and that they were spending a part of it on Egypt. He smiled enviously at the happy family that was waving vigorously in the picture; a small reminder of something he will never have.

Shaking off the feeling, Harry put down the article and took out the rest. A couple of letters and a small, glass toy came out. He read the letter and couldn't help but grin at Ron's adventure in their trip to Egypt. It was about time the Weasleys got what they deserved: a long, much-needed vacation. Harry picked up the Pocket Sneakoscope and muttered a small thanks to Ron.

_This will come in handy with Voldemort trying to come back._

Next, he opened Hagrid's letter.

It simply told him that the book he sent will come in handy during the school year. Curious, Harry took out the book and suddenly realized why the owl was so eager to drop it. A pair of beady eyes appeared at the edges of the book, and the lock that held the pages together suddenly became a mouth that snapped viciously, trying to bite Harry's offending hand off.

Surprised, Potter unceremoniously gave a girly yelp (of which he was later relieved that no one heard) and dropped the book, creating a soft thud that made him cringe. _Bugger. _The book quickly went under his bed, attacking anything that came to its path. A stirring noise made by a bed next to his room brought him back to senses.

_If Uncle Vernon sees this…_his thoughts were left hanging when he heard his heavy feet land on the floor, both cursing and thanking the fact that the walls were anything but soundproof.

Aware of the fact that that blasted uncle of his was about to check up one him, he hurriedly took out his belt and lured the book by dangling it. The sound of the door creaking open made him frantically hope that the dangerous book would take the bait, feeling a lot like one of the characters in one those American import films. _Something about…mission impossible or something of the like._

A snag from the belt told him it did and Harry quickly wound the leather belt around it tightly, successfully snapping it shut. Swiftly hiding the rest of his letters and the book under the covers, Harry feigned sleep while he tried to control his ragged breathing. Uncle Vernon opened the door to check on Harry, trying to find out what was making that noise. Harry swore he could literally feel his uncle's beady eyes glowering at his disturbed sleep.

Uncle Vernon's eyes narrowed even more as if it will help him see anything out of place. However, all he saw was his scrawny nephew sleeping, and that dratted owl of his stared at him eerily with her bright amber eyes.

He shivered at the owl, and cursed lowly, "Damn bird," before closing the door and returning to his room, apparently finding the owl fault of making the noice.

When the coast was clear, Harry reappeared under his sheets and examined the book further, looking for its title while ignoring its glaring eyes looking right at him. _Monster Book of Monsters. _

Harry snorted. _How fitting._ He softly and carefully placed it in his trunk, as he tried his best not to wake his uncle again. Not that he would actually _care_ about how much sleeping hours he was taking in; nah, he'd much rather cause as much problem to his relatives as possible if it wasn't for the fact he can't retaliate once they began their 'punishment' spree on him.

Harry finally took out the letter from Hogwarts. His face fell when he read a small passage in the first parchment.

_'Third years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade on certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form to your parent or guardian to sign'. _

"Damn," he cursed under his breath.

He highly doubted that Uncle Vernon will sign his form without any strings attached. Promising he'll find a way before he had to leave, he quickly scanned through the school supply, delighted to find that there weren't any books written by Gilderoy Lockhart.

However, he did find an interesting new note in the end.

'_A pair of Physical Defense uniform found in Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions will be mandatory for second years and above to buy. First years are able to choose to go to this class but it will later be required to go to as the next school year term starts. See the attached form bellow.' _

Harry pondered about this. _Physical Defense, huh? This might help him if Voldemort decides to visit Hogwarts again. _To which he found the possibility disturbingly high.

Harry yawned tiredly. He glanced at his clock, surprised that it was already nearing three. Putting down his letters on his bedside table, Harry slept with a goofy grin plastered on his face. Although he would have much preferred a birthday where it was celebrated through a party, he couldn't complain. Especially when it's compared to his past 12 birthdays.

**-**

**---**

**- **

The Leaky Cauldron. Tuesday (10:25)

**-**

"Wakey, wakey!" the mirror shrilled again.

Buffy growled under her breath. She didn't receive much sleep from last night, having been rudely interrogated by the Ministry of her position in Hogwarts. And a Buffy who didn't have enough sleep, is one cranky Slayer.

Ever since the news of this Serious Black escape from Alakazam prison, every single witch and wizard were on high alert. Apparently, this criminal was a great supporter of Voldemort and was the reason why Harry's parents are dead. He was also known to be the wizard who recklessly murdered thirteen muggles with a single curse in broad daylight, making him even more dangerous and lunatic to many people.

A picture of the mad man was posted downstairs and it shocked Buffy when she saw who it was. Not only was the man moving and screaming his head off in the _picture_, but he was the same person she saw in her dream.

Confusion definitely hit her when her dream about this person didn't match with what was boldly stated on the flyer. In her dream, Sirius was pleading for his life, telling some hooded men that he was innocent. The flyer on the other hand, showed a laughing maniac who looked like he really did what he was charged for.

She decided to send Giles a letter about her dream and asked if any of the Slayers dreamt about the man. He replied with a _'No, but I'll have someone looked into this Sirius fellow' _before a short reminder to be careful.

After receiving the response, Buffy decided to have another round at shopping when a couple wizards working for the Ministry, or Aurors as they called themselves, decided to stop by. They asked her questions about her position in Hogwarts and if she had any contact with the wanted murderer.

The interrogation went on for most of the day, which placed her shopping spree into a definite hold. In the end, they gave her directions on how to contact them with any new information and with a warning that they were keeping a close watch with her.

Apparently, the Minister didn't approve of her teaching in Hogwarts, even when Dumbledore told him about her reputation. The part of being the Slayer left untold. Buffy got the distinct feeling that Dumbledore wanted her to be Secret-Identity Gal about her Slayering Duties and decided to trusted on the intuition reluctantly, and told them nothing of her title. So in the end, she had to swallow her pride while she was blatantly told of being watched over.

The teaching deal suddenly looked less appealing with the Ministry of Magic looking at her every move. Buffy promised herself that if she ever saw Black, there will be a few bruises coming from her with the trouble he caused her.

The Slayer snuggled closer to her blankets, the strong presence of sleep claiming her again.

"Aren't you going to wake up, you big lump!" the mirror yelled again, and this time, sleep didn't come as easily as it did before. Buffy was about to pick up one of the pens she bought to replace the quills and throw it at the mirror when it reminded her what today was. "And not that I like _you _or anything, but its half past ten and don't you need a train to catch? Unless of course, the little trip from the Aurors tired you out and made you forget about it easily," the mirror said snidely.

Buffy's eyes snapped open. "DAMMIT!" she screeched, startling some of those pigeons who made the mistake of sleeping near the windowsill the previous nite. It was indeed half past ten and her luggage was still unpacked.

She hurriedly put on some reasonable clothes, and tied her hair up in a messy ponytail before launching herself to pack everything. There were laundry carelessly cast aside, merchandise out of their respected cases, and with that damn mirror rubbing it on her, needless to say, Buffy's temper was steadilyrising rapidly. In fact, the only one who was calm in the room was Mr. Gordo, much to Buffy's annoyance.

"I'm so gonna miss the train, and I won't BE in the train, and there'll be no Buffy in the train, and there'll be no teacher to teach the kids…," Buffy whined as she hurriedly stuffed her clothes in the suitcase.

"Tick tock, tick tock. Time is wasting, _dearie_. You wouldn't want to have _Professor Dumbledore_ no less to see you've failed to catch your train now, would you?" the mirror sneered gleefully at her.

Buffy could've sworn she almost growled at it but somehow managed to control her anger momentarily. She focused all of her attention to packing her clothes and miraculously managed to pack it all with fifteen minutes to spare. Ignoring once more the mirror's snide comments, Buffy went to a nearby telephone booth outside to call a cab and took out her bags to meet the vehicle.

She felt awkward when she placed Mr. Gordo inside the cab and chose to ignore the amused glances and sarcastic comments some of the passing people said as she tried to calm the indignant noises her owl was making. After much hassle, Buffy managed to get all of her belongings into the yellow car, which took her to King's Cross.

**-**

**---**

-

**King's Cross; Between Platform 9 and Platform 10**

**- **

Buffy shook her head at the absurdity of it all. Someone telling her to kill demons she could handle. Someone telling her she needs to stop an apocalypse she could face. But someone telling her to go _into _a wall she somehow found a bit ridiculous to do. Buffy glanced at the clock which told her that she had 3 minutes before the train had to leave.

Swallowing down her slight nervousness, she started to walk towards the barrier. _I hope my nose doesn't take any damage_. The brick wall came closer with each step she took, and finally she went through the red wall.

Buffy had no time to celebrate her accomplishment since a shrill noise from the Hogwarts Express signaled its final call.

"Damn it," she cursed before hurriedly pushing the two trolleys towards the train and was about to go inside the carts when someone came up to her.

"Professor?" Buffy turned around.

"Yes?"

"I can take yer luggage into the train, Professor. It'll be no trouble at all, I assure you, Miss. I work in the train," he added when she cast a worried glance at her luggage. Buffy flashed him a smile and nodded gratefully. "And I assume you'd want to sit in the first cart, yes? There's only one other person in the train, Professor, so yer free to wander 'round the train without the kids runnin' into you," the worker said as he led Buffy inside the train. "Well, here you are. I'll leave you to yer own bearings. I'll just take yer luggage to the luggage cart o' the train and we'll be set to Hogwarts. Have a nice day, Professor," he said and began to walk to another part of the train.

"Thanks," Buffy replied, not bothering to ask him to drop her new title. _And besides, it's not like I'll be seeing him anytime soon. _

The Slayer walked towards the first cabin she saw and sat in the small compartment. Not long after, the train began its journey towards Hogwarts.

…

Several hours later, Buffy awoke at the train's change of speed, surprised she had actually fallen asleep. The scenery has changed from the wide, open meadows, to a darker forest. She looked at the sky and realized that it was already dark, the moon shining brightly.

The trip was uneventful, having obviously slept past most of it. She didn't bother to have a look around the train, knowing that she'll meet the other Professor in Hogwarts anyways. Finally, the train stopped completely. Taking this as her queue, Buffy went out of the train and was greeted by a familiar face. "Hagrid!"

Hagrid caught sight of her and waved in return. "Buffy! I've got great news! Professor Dumbledore made me tha new Magical Creatures Professor."

Hagrid beamed with absolute pride. "That's great Hagrid. Or should I say, _Professor _Hagrid?"

Buffy smirked when he blushed. "It'll be just Hagrid for yeh, Buffy. Anyway, how was yer trip?"

"Uneventful," Buffy shrugged. "I slept most of it though."

"Yeh didn't meet the otha' Professor?" She shook her head. "Oh well. 'Ere he comes now. Professor Lupin!" Hagrid waved at the other Professor Buffy kept on hearing about.

The man smiled and waved back. "Rubeus Hagrid. It's been too long, friend," Lupin greeted back in return once he caught up with them.

Buffy looked at his torn robes with interest yet his attitude showed that he could care less. Something about him caught her attention, but it wasn't his tired eyes, the tattered clothes, or even the gray freckles on his hair that did. It was a familiar feeling she sensed in him; a feeling that she'd gotten to know quite well during her senior year in high school.

She didn't realize that she was staring at him until Lupin greeted her, albeit a bit stiffly than he did with Hagrid. "And you must be Professor Summers, I assume? I've heard much about you," he added as he shook her hand.

_Must've heard the Slayer part then, _she thought with amusement.

Buffy flashed him the most reassuring smile she could muster. "Didn't know I had fame around these parts. And it'll be just Buffy," she said in return. Knowing that it would be best if he came out of his secret first, she turned to Hagrid with a grin. "So, Hogwarts will be around here right?"

To say that Lupin was surprised at her lack of mention of his state was an understatement. Astonished, shocked, heck even flabbergasted would've been closer to what he was feeling now. _Surely she would've noticed it by now?_

At Dumbledore's mention of her being the Slayer, it made him think twice about going to teach in Hogwarts with her hanging about, something he never thought he we would do. After all, Slayers were known to sense out any demons and monsters, even in a large crowd. Being a werewolf most definitely placed him in those categories.

But her friendly, almost airy behavior made him doubt if Dumbledore got the right person. He knew long ago that appearances can be deceiving, but Buffy's ignorance about him being a werewolf still surprised him. He was so deep in his thoughts, that he didn't hear the conversation around him.

"Remus, yeh still know the way to the carriages, right?"

"What? Oh yes, of course," Hagrid left them with a short wave, his reason apparently missed during Lupin's musings. "Well, there's no use standing around here, c'mon," Lupin stated as he led her towards the carriages.

Buffy appreciated his attitude towards her even when he knew what she was. This wasn't something she receive quite often when demons (should I even _call _him a demon?) know that she was the Slayer. They either become too cocky and confident for their own good, or they hightailed out of her way, preferring to keep their heads and any other body part quite intact. But she could still see his edginess and his guard around her.

_Oh well, a girl can't have everything._

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Lupin stopped walking.

"Guess we'll be sitting in the same carriage then," he awkwardly stated. He opened the door and signaled her to enter, but the horses that were supposed to pull the carriage caught her attention.

"What are those?" she whispered curiously. Before she knew what she was doing, Buffy walked towards the beasts with awe, leaving Lupin no choice but to follow her.

"I assume you're talking about the thestrals?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I knew about them, would I?" This caught Lupin off guard and Buffy had to laugh at his confused face.

"No, I suppose you wouldn't," he said finally, a slight grin forming on his face. He became more relaxed, albeit slightly, and even Buffy could see that his guard was still up.

"So…about these, winged gothic horses?" she repeated.

"Right. These _thestrals_ are creatures of whom many have not seen. Only those who have seen death are able to see them. Hagrid might know more about them than me. He's fascinated with these types of beasts, he is," Lupin explained, momentarily forgetting who he was talking to.

Buffy smiled sadly. '_Only those who have seen death are able to see them'_. She could've laughed at the irony of it.

"Guess that would explain it then," she said softly but Lupin heard the comment nonetheless.

"So, shall we?" he finally said after an awkward pause. He looked at the petite blonde as she stared at the thestrals as if it was a sad reminder of her past.

Lupin finally realized that she was indeed one of the strongest beings out there; one who was claimed to have the strength of ten men. It was that look in her eyes that gave him all the evidence he needed. It was the eyes of a fighter who have seen too much fights, too many deaths, and too much pain. A heavy burden that had claimed the thoughts of the world was placed on her shoulders, and it saddened him to think that any one was destined to protect the world, whether they wanted to or not.

Buffy finally seemed to snap out of it and turned to him with a cheery smile. "Yup."

The short ride to Hogwarts was filled with small conversation. Neither telling the other about being the werewolf or the Slayer, but both of them already knew what the other was. Finally, the carriage drew to a stop and Buffy and Lupin came out of the cart.

The Slayer stared with awe when she finally saw Hogwarts. Immense couldn't have possibly described the size of the castle and neither would the word 'enchanted'. It looked like it was designed from a fairy tale and was made for a king, not a school. The bright stars only made look ever more magical.

"Wow."

"Exactly my reaction in my first year. Although, without the part of looking like a fish," Lupin added and grinned when Buffy glared at him.

"Whatever."

Lupin led her to a huge pair of doors that placed the one in Gringotts to shame. When it opened, they were met by an old, strict looking woman in dark emerald robes.

"Professor McGonagall," Lupin greeted.

"Remus," she said in return. "Welcome back to Hogwarts. As well as to you, Miss Summers."

"It's just Buffy." Professor McGonagall raised a brow. "You know, since we're kind of working together and you're older than me. NOT that I was saying you were 'old-old' but just older and it's kind of weird if you call me Miss Summers since I'll be looking for my…mom if you do," she babbled with a flush. McGonagall's mouth thinned to a smile.

"Indeed, Buffy," she then turned to Lupin. "Fiver will help you to your room, Remus. Dumbledore sends word for you tomorrow. The password's Wizard Crackers."

Lupin was led by a small, creature with big brown eyes that was behind McGonagall and walked away to another direction, leaving Buffy with the other Professor.

"Dumbledore needs to speak with you," McGonagall turned to the blond girl, "he has a few issues to be sorted." With that, the strict woman led her to Dumbledore's office.

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**A/N: **Was Lupin's character intact? It's my first time writing his character, so I'm really open to suggestions on how to write him. A way to do that is to REVIEW! Now, about the important blip. I may not be posting any more chapters until September. This is due because I am going to write up as many chapters as I could before school start so the problem of not having enough time will be solved. There might be some updates, but the chances of that happening are slim.

Second, I finally decided on keeping the shipper thing into neutral grounds. That means that I won't be writing any shippers for Buffy in this story any time soon. I'm so sorry to those who are disappointed at this, but I think that this is the best

Third, someone requested me to make a similar trivia game from Pandora's Box here. I am still not sure about this, but it will be done in a popular vote. Again, please send your thoughts by reviewing.

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**Special Thanks To:**

**sonofgloin **whoosh. I was slightly worried about the escape scene. I'm glad somebody thought it was fine. Thanks so much for the review!

**Sleepinbeauty** don't forget to send in your thoughts about the poll thinger. I'm glad that you like the story so far!

**buffy13-buffyspike4eva **lol. I really do appreciate your reviews. I appreciate everyone's reviews. Anyways, send in another review and I'll appreciate you more!

**Jay **hope this was soon enough for you. I'm happy that you liked the Sirius bit, the mirror part, and the owl. Thanks!

**Redlux **hey hey! Thanks a lot! I hope you're fine with the decision with the shipper. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter.

**Lightdemondarkangel **woah, really? That's neat. I will greatly appreciate the reviews that are supposed(?) to come!

And to **Jeff, TheMischief, Anne-Marie, **and **buffyfan363 **thanks for all of the reviews, and I dearly appreciate every single one of them!

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_edited on 8-20-05_


	6. Settling In Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Harry Potter. All of the characters, settings, themes, books, show, titles, worlds, names, demons, witches, slayers, creation, references, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong the Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., and of course, J.K. Rowling. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Story is set 1 year after Season 7 and five days before Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. Just for possible future references, the story will be happening during Angel's Season 5.

**Author's Note: **I'M BACK! Wow...it's been awhile, hasn't it? Oh well, but with the school coming up, updates will be once a week. I don't know what 'exact' day will be perfect so I was thinking on a Friday update thing? I'll try to update every Friday so that it'll just be after school or work or whatnot but before the weekend begins. Thoughts? Anywho, thanks for the reviews! Up next: Buffy is starting to get settled in Hogwarts. Read down to find out more!

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Chapter 6—Settling in Hogwarts

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Buffy stepped out of the moving staircase and entered Dumbledore's office. She took everything in with surprise and humor, never having seen any of them before Huge portraits of moving old men were hung in the circular office and started looking at her curiously. There were strange trinkets scattered all over his wooden desk, along with several stacks of paper. To her left, there was a roaring fire going despite the warm weather of summer._ It was just so…him._

"Good evening, Buffy. I trust your stay at the Leaky Cauldron met your standards," Dumbledore greeted her just as she was examining a gorgeous scarlet bird.

"It was fine. Although the military boys that came yesterday and gave me the second degree ruined _all_ my fun," Buffy replied dryly, finally stopping her wandering eyes. She sat on one of the cushioned chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk when he offered her one.

"Yes, I've heard about the Ministry's visit to your room. It's actually the reason I wanted to talk to you before you settled in," Dumbledore paused as if to think on what to say next. He sat behind his desk and continued on. "You've heard about Sirius Black's escape, correct?" Buffy nodded.

"What do you know about him?"

"From what I heard in the Leaky Cauldron, this Sirius man was a great supporter of Viddlewart and that he killed a street full of muggles in broad daylight. I also heard that he was the reason why Harry's parents are six feet under," Buffy replied, wondering if all the rumors were true.

"Sadly, what you have heard is correct. We thought that Sirius Black was in our side during those times. He was James's best friend ever since the two met in their first year here. The duo was inseparable; they could've been mistaken for brothers if it wasn't for their surname. They, along with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew-," Buffy's eyebrow rose up. _Lupin knew Sirius? _"—were one of the most mischievous students that ever stepped foot in Hogwarts. But when Voldemort came into power, things started to change.

"The Potters had Harry during the War, and those were terrible times for everybody; wizards and muggles alike. Everyone was on high alert; even some muggles. Each were wondering if the other was a spy for Voldemort and fearing for their lives. However, the Potters managed to find happiness despite the dark times.

"James appointed Sirius as Harry's godfather, and many who now knew of his decision, regret his choice. When word reached us about Lily's and James's death, we were…devastated to say the least. We finally realized Sirius's true side once we've heard the news of the massacre a week after that. Predictably, the Ministry sent him to Azkaban where he has been locked up these past thirteen years. Until now," Dumbledore said, a sad glint in his eyes forming.

"After we heard that he escaped from Azkaban, we all came to the agreement that Black will try to do what the Dark Lord could not; kill Harry Potter in revenge for his downfall. The Minister and I finally decided that the dementors, the guardians of Azkaban, will search for any signs of Black in Hogwarts, much to my chagrin. Despite their so-called 'importance' to Black's recapture, everyone in the staff including me, feel an animosity towards them. They will arrive next week, and I cannot stress how much you need to stay away from them, Buffy," Dumbledore warned.

The Slayer knew that the headmaster was keeping something away from her, but let the feeling dropped. Instead, she opted for the next available topic. "Okay, I got the 'warning' part on that one, but not the 'why'," Buffy pointedly stated. _If these demented guards were the ones who failed to guard Sirius in the first place, they couldn't be that bad, could they?_

"Buffy, these dementors are one of the foulest of the foul. They live off the happiness on a person, and force them to relive their worst moments. The guilt, anger, despair, and heavens know what will come back and haunt you," Buffy shivered as she remembered waking up in her coffin. "Many go mad if they stay near a dementor long enough. This is why you should stay away from them at all cost. You have no magical abilities to keep them away, even at bay; Slayer or not," he added firmly, leaving no room for Buffy to object.

"However, I firmly pressed to Cornelius Fudge—the Minister—that the dementors cannot pass within the school's boundaries, which includes a part of the Forbidden Forest. If it's not too much to ask, would you be willing to patrol along these borders? I fear that Voldemort might try to regain power, due to his past attempts in the last couple of years. You may have the lack to do magic, but I trust your strength will help you."

"Consider it done," Buffy said, glad that she would be able to do her nightly patrols. "And speaking of 'not doing magic', what do you want me to do with my whole Slayerness?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "I apologize for not telling you sooner, but I highly suggested telling no one of your stature. The staff in this school has been told of your title and has sworn confidentiality about it, but to the rest of the wizardry world, you are a squib."

"You told people I'm a squid!" Buffy yelled, horrified at what he did.

The Headmaster seemed to think it was funny as he started laughing. "Not a _squid, _a _squi**b**. _A squib is a witch or wizard who is unable to perform magic, despite their direct heritage. This might explain Cornelius's attitude at your incompetence to be a Professor. And I need to warn you in advance that there will be students along with their parents that will think so too _if _they hear about it."

"Great. I officially have two aliases," she sighed. "I am so not liking this Chocolate Fudge person, and this is coming from someone who loves chocolate and fudge," Buffy pouted.

"Quite. I would appreciate it as well if you tell no one about your connections with your friends back in Bath. I fear that the subject will lead to too many questions and gain suspicion. Oh and before I forget, I assume that you already know that Professor Lupin is a werewolf?"

"Like the back of my hand, Dumbledore," Buffy grinned.

"Well yes," Dumbledore replied, not knowing what to say to the response. "I would really be thankful if you don't...erm, harm him in any bodily way. He _is _one of your co-workers and one of the best students I've had in Hogwarts. I'm actually quite surprised that Lupin came up here in one piece, but thankfully nothing of the sort happened. So, if you please...?"

Buffy's smile broadened. "Wouldn't even dream about it," she replied to the unfinished question.

"Fantastic. So, now that we are done with our business here, would you like to see your room? Minerva, Professor McGonagall that is, will be stopping by tomorrow to lead you to your classroom as well as to the Great Hall for breakfast," Dumbledore informed her conversationally as they exited his office.

Buffy was only half listening as she stared with awe in her surroundings. Sure she saw a part of it while walking to Dumbledore's office, but Buffy never enjoyed it as she had to keep up with McGonagall's fast pace. Like in Diagon Alley, she wished that they would walk so much slower.

There were ghosts floating around, their translucent bodies had allowed her to see right through them. They passed a group of suit of armors who saluted at Dumbledore as they walked by them. Torches hung against the wall to provide them light, just like what one would expect in old castles.

Finally, they stopped in front of a huge painting. There was a petite English girl looking at them with curiosity. Dressed in a purple Victorian corset, her brown hair curled down her slender shoulders giving her an elegant look. A harp stood right next to her, playing a soft tune on its own accord. Finally she spoke to them. "Good evening, Albus," she greeted softly, "This would be the new Professor, I assume?"

"Yes she is. Buffy Summers, I would like you to meet Lady Lyra, the guardian of your room."

"A guardian, huh?" Buffy eyed her curiously as well. _More like a painting._

Lyra nodded at her. "I am, Professor. What would you like your password to be?"

"I need a password for my room?" Lyra once more, nodded. Buffy shrugged the odd need, but thought of one. "Hmm, how about...'Slayed'?" The painting nodded again and swung open, and revealed a hidden room behind it.

Despite the lavished feel of Hogwarts, Buffy never thought her room would be quite like this. The circular room was almost as big as one of the living rooms back in Bath. Buffy entered her room and couldn't help her jaws from dropping as she took sight of it.

The walls were painted in creamy yellow, which gave the room a warm and light feeling. There was a queen sized, four poster bed in one side of the room which was covered in some soft blue material. It shimmered under the light of the simple chandelier that hung down her ceiling. In front of the bed was a crackling fireplace, which provided the warmth she'll need during winter. There were posters that hung next to it: a badger, an eagle, a lion, and a snake.

Next to her bed was a small bedside table where a lamp stood. A huge closet stood near the other side of her bed with a mirror hung over it. There was a beautiful wooden table near a window in what looked like the corner of her room. The window opened to the cascading mountains that bordered Hogwarts and was surrounded with red tapestry.

A bookshelf near her table was filled with books that surprisingly caught her attention. There was a blue couch and a coffee table next to the bookshelf, which made it look like a mini-library.

There were a couple of doors located at both ends of the room. One lead to an enormous bathroom, the walls painted in pastel green and pale silver. The other door led to a fully equipped training room that had mats and every weapon imaginable. Instead of having stones as her floor, it was polished wood. The walls in this room were in deep scarlet, bordered with golden paint.

All in all, the room made her speechless. "Wow."

Behind her, Dumbledore chuckled at her reaction. "To put it in a way. Since you didn't attend Hogwarts, I took the liberty on posting the four houses in the school. The badger is Hufflepuff, the eagle is Ravenclaw, the lion Gryffindor, and the snake, Slytherin. I understand that you had a tiring trip today and that you still need to unpack, so I asked one of the house-elves to bring you your dinner," Dumbledore paused. "Goodnight, Professor Summers."

"Back at ya, Dumbledore," Buffy muttered, still in awe of her room. All of her luggage was in the foot of her bed and Mr. Gordo was also standing right next to the window. Dumbledore laughed before leaving her room. Things definitely looked better for Buffy.

**-**

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**-**

There was somebody calling her. "Buffy!" a voice shouted outside. The Slayer immediately recognized it as Professor McGonagall and quickly got out of her bed. She regretted her decision sorely when coldness hit her and was tempted to jump back in when the shouting continued.

"Miss Summers, if you don't want to go to the Great Hall with me, you are quite welcome to find your own way. All you have to do is say so," McGonagall added testily.

Finally, the portrait swung open, which revealed a disheveled Slayer. Her hair was still messed up from the recent sleep and her eyes still looked tired from the rude awakening. "Uh... I had train-lag?" Buffy answered her sheepishly. When she didn't receive a response, Buffy hastily added, "Just give me five minutes to change from my pjs."

Five minutes later and Buffy came out of the room. "What are you doing?" McGonagall asked exasperated, "you haven't changed at all."

Buffy looked down, expecting to see her pajamas, but only saw her tank top, loose pants, flip-flops ensemble she picked out awhile ago. "Yes I did. See, no puppy pjs and frizzy hair," she defended as she started to tie her hair.

McGonagall looked like she was about to say something else but thought better of it. Besides, it would've taken ten more minutes out of her schedule before they proceeded to breakfast. "Fine. Follow me," she said as they began walking. After several flights of stairs, they finally came to another hall Buffy recognized to where she and Lupin entered last night. The older Professor led her to another set of doors, which revealed the Great Hall.

"Wow…" Buffy whispered under her breath as she stared at what she assumed where the ceiling was. Instead of the usual wooden ceiling, or hard stones, the clear blue skies from outside showed. Even a few birds flew across. She idly wondered how many times she would say that before getting used to the magic concept.

"How did-"

"The ceiling is enchanted to present the weather outside. Its one of the best features about Hogwarts," McGonagall answered the unfinished question, her voice filled with pride at the school. "There's some more explanation in _Hogwarts, A History_, found in the Library if you want to more know about it." They walked up to the teacher's table, where most of the staff was.

"Good morning, everyone. May I present to you Professor Buffy Summers, the new professor of the also new subject of Physical Defense," the professors welcomed Buffy to the school. "Buffy, these are most of the professors, your co-workers, at Hogwarts. You can sit next to Remus if you like," McGonagall suddenly waved her wand at the end of the table, which suddenly extended and produced another seat along with another plate without looking like it grew bigger.

"Hiya, Remus," Buffy greeted as she sat down next to him.

Lupin grinned half-heartedly at her cheery presence, suddenly losing his appetize. He was still puzzled at Buffy's ignorance at his werewolf state, especially since the rest of the staff knows that he was one. Dumbledore certainly would've told Buffy by now, if not 'sense' his demonic part. After all, aren't Slayers able to do that? Remus thought that it would be she who would react the worse; she being the Slayer and all. But since the 'Slayer' neither said nor acted as if she did know, Lupin wasn't thoroughly complaining.

"Good morning, Buffy. What do you think of Hogwarts?" he asked conversationally, as she placed some breakfast on her plate.

"Great so far, considering I was only here for less than twenty-four hours," she answered back. "How 'bout you? Has the whole 'being back here since seventeen' joggled your memory back in place?"

Lupin laughed. "I can never forget this place. It brought some changes into my life and I will never regret any of them," a sad glint in his eyes appeared. Before Buffy could change the subject, a dark haired professor suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Severus," Lupin greeted in what he hoped was a cool voice. The other professor merely glared at him with pure loathing in return.

"I'd watch your back if I were you, Remus. There are some of us who will take pleasure on catching fugitives red handed," he sneered back at him. Professor Sever-Us shot Buffy a look before stalking away in a billow of his cloak.

"Let me guess, old school rivalry?" Buffy asked calmly as she bit into her toast. She stared at the retreating professor, wondering when the last time he took a bath was.

"It goes way back, I'm afraid," Lupin said in response as he took a sip from his goblet.

"As long as the time he last rinsed the slime from his hair off?" Lupin snorted in his drink, making him choke from the pumpkin juice. Buffy chuckled as he comically tried to calm himself down.

"Sorry. Just, brought back some memories is all," he apologized.

"Care to enlighten me?" The becoming too-familiar sad look in his eyes appeared again, and Buffy hastily added, "Or not." Despite what Lupin felt about talking about his past with Sirius Black, the known infamous traitor, he started describing about his time in Hogwarts anyways.

"It's fine. During my years as a student here, my friends, James, Peter, and...Sirius," he added forcibly, "that is, had a great dislike for Severus Snape. Of course, him being in Slytherin and us in Gryffindor didn't help matters either. I'm afraid that some of our pranks and tricks during the seven years in Hogwarts had fueled his animosity towards us. Then again, so were the ones we tricked on did too, though hopefully in a lesser degree.

"And now that here I am, years after all the humiliation we've cost him, and teaching here nonetheless, let's just say he isn't the happiest of the professors here. Added with the fact that I am teaching the very subject he so desperately wants, I seriously doubt he respects the Headmaster as he once did," Remus added thoughtfully.

Buffy grinned. "So, its group hates boy, boy hates group. Group plays pranks on boy, boy gets angry. Years later part of group comes here and teaches where boy teaches too. Yup, that'll explain the threat all right. What I don't get is where the hair part comes in," she wondered aloud.

Lupin laughed at how she summarized his story. "I'm afraid even Dumbledore can't solve that mystery."

Someone cleared their throat. Buffy and Remus looked at McGonagall who was staring at them with her eyebrow raised. "While I appreciate your way of introducing the other professors here, Remus," Lupin smiled sheepishly, "-I need to borrow Buffy for awhile. It's time she sees her classroom before I'm off to start the year's lesson plan."

"I could do it for you, Professor," Lupin offered. The werewolf could've smacked his head right there and then, but thought better of it. He didn't know why he suddenly offered his supposed 'enemy' a tour of Hogwarts. An idea dawned inside his head. Maybe getting to know the Slayer will answer his hidden questions.

"Thank you, Lupin. But I hardly doubt that you can create my plan for the year, despite your grades when you were here," the older Professor replied, an eyebrow raised.

Remus laughed humorously. "Not _that. _I meant with me giving Ms. Summers here her tour. I'm sure you want to have the students the best lesson they could have this year, and it won't be a burden at all," Lupin clarified.

"Oh so now I'm a burden?" Buffy growled under her breath so only Lupin heard it. Remus bristled at her tone but kept looking back at McGonagall.

"I suppose so. Unless Buffy objects of the change," she asked the Slayer.

"Oh, not at all. Lupin and I will have a fun day with the meaning of burden hanging around our heads." _His head to be exact. _Buffy grinned wickedly at Remus who pointedly ignored her predatory look.

"If you say so," a slight confused look passing on the older woman's face, "Buffy's classroom is at the end of the second floor, Remus. It's near the portrait of Gory the Grim," McGonagall instructed before heading off to her classroom.

"A burden, huh?" the Slayer growled once more, and this time there was no point on ignoring her further. She could've laughed out loud at Lupin's horrified face but wanted the effect that made him squeamish last longer.

"Erm, I'm sorry?" Lupin apologized, fearing that he finally signed his death warrant. _Stupid Remus, stupid!_

"And that's supposed to clear the fact that you still called me one?" Buffy didn't give her new friend a response back before she gave him a slap on the head, reminding herself to give him a soft hit.

Soft that is, on Buffy's standards. Remus grimaced with pain as he held onto his head. He was surprised when he realized that she was merely jesting—and was touched by the playful manner—but clearly, Buffy's slayer strength also lies within her lightest punch. He could already feel a bump coming along and shuddered to think if Buffy hit him harder.

"Ow. Didn't deserve it _that _much."

"Sorry. Guess I don't know my own strength sometimes," Buffy had the grace to look sheepish. "So, you done with breakfast yet?"

…

Buffy yawned as she entered her room. The tour around Hogwarts Lupin gave her had tired her, despite the Slayer package. From walking around the dungeons to climbing up endless stairs, from visiting her classroom to going through shortcuts, long-cuts, and secret passages, she felt as if they've visited every crook and cranny of the school and told Lupin so. In response, he merely said that they haven't even been to half the places he'd gone while still in school.

But all the same, Buffy had gotten a taste of the vast halls of Hogwarts. Even if her tour guide was still a bit edgy around her. She rubbed her eyes as she kicked off her shoes. "Hey, Gordo," she greeted the owl. The brown owl hooted in response before he closed his eyes.

The Slayer looked at the bird and suddenly remembered that she needed to write back to the others. With a sigh, she took out her chair and some writing materials, including her pen and started to write:

_-_

_To Everyone,_

_I've finally arrived to the famous Hogwarts place and it really has something to be famous for. Its huge halls and all of the magic that is going around really makes it look that it came out of a Disney movie. Anyways, I just wanted to write and tell you that I'm finally realizing what their term of 'magic' is around here. There are even talking paintings, saluting suites of armors, and a ceiling that lets people see the weather outside around this place!_

_Other than the whole school thing, one of the professors in here is a werewolf. It's kinda awkward to do the whole teaching and slaying thing with him around, but then again, I had much practice with Oz back in the days. Speaking of teaching, I was wonder if you can give me some pointers about it, Willow. You handled the computer class back in SunnyD so...guidance for the much needed here! _

_How's work, Xand? Still going on top as always? Thanks by the way on helping me make this decision. It's one of the best so far. I was actually wondering if you can send some of my weapons back? The owls will be able to handle it. Hopefully. _

_Oh, and Giles, have you gotten anything else about this Sirius Black? I'm starting to hear some stories about his 'betrayal' during the War with Voldemort, but it still doesn't match up with the Slayer dreams. Despite how cryptic they could be, they still turn out right one way or the other._

_And Dawn, I realize that you'd be off to Oxford soon, so I wish you good luck! And no, there won't be any brooms coming along your way, people in college might call in the animal rights department of the government and take away the owl, and no matter how harmless a broom could be, it will be in your hands. You better not touch a single ILLEGAL thing in there or I will personally come down there and kick your butt. **Sister or not**._

_Faith, I owe you a lot for doing this. I thought that asking you to leave Cleveland would be a bit too overboard, so, thank you. I know it's been hard for you ever since Robin...uh, you know, didn't survive in the hospital in L.A. You could talk to me or any of the gang about it. Believe me, we all have our share of mishap relationships. Anyways, keep me in the loop with everything going on back there (keep a close eye on the others) and have fun with being the boss. Not that you need the idea of fun. _

_Buffy_

_-_

The Slayer tucked in the parchment into an envelope and tapped Mr. Gordo's cage. The owl glared at her interruption, but Buffy paid no mind. "Bring this back to Slayer Central in Bath, would you? And there might be some heavier load in the return letter, so I'd suggest going to the Owlery to get some help. See ya in a couple."

Mr. Gordo hooted in annoyance, but did what he was told anyways. He snatched the letter away and flew off to the Owlery to recruit some more owls. Buffy didn't even bother to change and soon slept on the soft mattress.

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**A/N: **So, what do you think? Bonus points to those who realize what the color of Buffy's room mean. Remember to review!

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**Special Thanks To:**

_Anne-Marie_-Well then I am touched that I didn't managed to bore you. Hopefully it goes with the rest of the chapters that are bound to come. Appreciate you thoughts!

_buffyfan363- _I do plan on making them good friends. I mean come on! Wouldn't it be a big 'duh'? LOL Thanks for commenting on their characters being intact. I needed the reassurance. And as for the Spike thing, I plan_ned_ him coming in after Angel's season finally. Do the whole 'coming back and showing Buffy I'm alive as a vampire' thing. And thanks for the support.

_Highlanderfanatic- _I did take your suggestion into consideration...only I went on another way with it, if you get my meaning. If you don't, what I meant to say is that instead of having a Spuffy fic, I changed it and went with nada. Like I've said on Sorrow1's review, this might turn into a series, and shippers might go there.

_La Vito- _I'm sorry if things didn't go like you liked, but like what somebody said, I can't keep everyone happy, although I strive to do so. It's an annoying trait of mine. Anyways, I hope this doesn't stop you from reading this.

_Lightdemondarkangel- _thanks for the support, I really appreciate it. But if you managed to read the 'temporary' chapter six, you would realize that I turned this into a neutral fic. So, you don't have to struggle through Spuffy romance. Yup, you waited long enough for this update!

_Marz1- _I hope this chapter explained your first question. And don't worry. There will be some Buffy vs. Dementors action going on in the future, so keep on reading. Phew...I was pretty worried with Lupin over there. But then again, he didn't play that big of a scene anyways...

_Sonofgloin- _thanks a lot! I really needed the assurance if I typed Lupin, Sirius, and any other characters intact. It's my first time writing them you see...Hopefully this chapter showed a bit more of Buffy's way of saying 'I don't care if you're a werewolf' if not subtly. I mean come on! Hanging out with Oz, has to count with something!

_Sorrow1- _I guess you didn't like it that much then, huh? Anyways, if you are still interested in reading this story, you would know that I changed the shipper back again. Although...I had one reviewer that told me that there aren't that much Spuffy fics out there, which got me a little confused. So, anyways, I think it'll be much safer to be on the neutral side. Who knows? I might even turn this into a series and write a shipper with somebody there...

_sparky24- _ahh, yes. The inevitable question. I'm actually surprised that there was only one person who managed to catch on to that note. Anyways, yes, I DO realize that Lupin was introduced in the 'real' PoA at the train scene. And it still will be for the Hogwarts students; only a little bit tweeked for the story purposes. Anywho, this will come along at around Chapter 10 which I am currently typing right now so read until then!

_Suzij- _I'm guessing you don't like Spuffy then. I got a little confused by your review though. The one thing I did get that you hated Spuffy...you can't over look this shipper...but you'll read it because I turned it into a neutral story...and you'd like more updates. Oh well, the last two things are what matters now I guess.

_Tranquility- _Well, the thing is, I'm really not that big on getting the whole gang into Hogwarts since a) the plot of Prisoner of Azkaban will get all screwy and b) while there are authors out there who have managed to get them to Hogwarts and still write all of them without getting cramped, I am not one of them. Thanks anyways for the review.

_Wizathogwarts-..._nobody's forcing you to read my story. And it's just silly that you said that I just wasted your time, because again, it is you who used it. It's pretty interesting that some readers will just stop because of a shipper they don't like. Nope, it's not the plot or the writing style that 'suddenly' disinterests them, but the chosen romance. It's just an interesting notion is all...

Thanks for the others that I have not mention, I really appreciate it. Review some more!

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_edited on 8-21-05_


	7. Life of An Outcast

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Harry Potter. All of the characters, settings, themes, books, show, titles, worlds, names, demons, witches, slayers, creation, references, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., and of course, J.K. Rowling. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Story is set 1 year after Season 7 and five days before Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. Just for possible future references, the story will be happening during Angel's Season 5.

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews! Up next: We get to see what's happening down at Privet Drive with our Harry. There's a whole lot of cursing over here, so press the mute button if you can't stand it. Read to find out more!

**-**

**---**

Chapter Seven, The Life of an Outcast

---

-

"...It all comes down to the blood, you see. If the bitch's blood is tainted, what more could you expect from the pup! Really Petunia, I'm surprised you kept this mutt after all what your whore of a sister has done to you!" Marge exclaimed as she took a sip from her wine, oblivious to the glare she received from Harry. Petunia merely nodded tightly as she kept throwing wary glances at her nephew.

Harry clutched his fork; his hands were trembling from trying to control his growing rage. _How dare she! _he seethed. _Bloody git never even knew my parents! _Things have been like this ever since she came for a visit. Aunt Marge insulted his lineage and Harry could do nothing but keep his mouth shut. Anger started to fill him and then he heard a wine glass explode. The sudden sound of the broken glass brought Harry back to his senses.

_The form, the form, the form..._

Petunia squealed when one of her precious glasses were destroyed. "Are you alright, Marge?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Got a strong grip is all. Happens every time back at home," she assured her but it didn't stop the Dursleys from glancing at Harry suspiciously. "Anyways, where were we? Ah, yes...you _boy_," Harry didn't look up for fear of loosing control again.

_The five best ways to keep a broom in shape..._

"YOU LOOK AT ME WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU, BRAT! It's a bloody wonder why my fine brother here kept you in their house. You're very presence shames them of keeping you, a bastard's son, living in their very own house after your parents died. Why, I wouldn't even _BE _surprised if they died drunk in that car crash!" Marge spat at him.

"Take that back," Harry growled out as he stood up. Something inside him finally snapped and he neither cared about the form nor the nagging voice in the back of his head about underage magic. All commonsense has left him, and it was raw rage along with injured pride that's controlling him now. He glared coldly at Aunt Marge as he waited for an apology.

"Boy...," a hidden warning was behind Uncle Vernon's voice, but Harry could care less. In truth, Vernon was afraid of Potter. Afraid of the 'horrible' things he can do by saying a small incantation, or just flicking his hands around, waving that wretched _wand _of his.

"Oh let him be, Vernon. Besides what can the mutt do? Look at him! He's scrawny as a twig," Marge chuckled at her own analogy, which did nothing but infuriate Harry more.

"I said, _take that back_. You know _nothing_ of my parents; you do NOT have a right to insult them. All you have are accusations, nothing more than petty insults you can come up with!" he snapped. Harry felt the crackling energy of magic in the air surrounding him, but he was too angry to care.

"Don't you take that tone with me, boy! Your parents are nothing more than an insult to the human race! Your mother a whore and father an unemployed ass!"

Harry made a move to lunge at her across the table but Uncle Vernon managed to hold him off. "Let go of me!" Potter screamed. A glint in his eyes frightened the Dursleys and startled Marge. But Vernon's sister only gave out a cold glare at Harry.

"Clearly your nephew is demented, Petunia. Are you-," she was suddenly cut off by something. Marge made a choking sound, but she hadn't even taken a bite for the past ten minutes. The English woman started to inflate; it was truly the only word for it. Her cheeks became rounder, neck disappearing, stomach larger, and arms bigger. Even her eyes looked like they were ready to pop out of their sockets!

"Vernon!" she squealed worriedly as she waved her arms wildly. Marge started to float up in the air while at the same time still get bigger and bigger. "What's happening to me?"

"Don't worry, Marge. I'll get you down!" Vernon assured her in a shaky voice, but snapped his attention at a now maniac-grinning Harry. "I know you did it. Turn her back, boy! Now!"

"Or what?" Harry challenged, and Mr. Dursley took it as his queue to let him go, "she got what she deserved," he added before turning around and fleeing to his room. Harry breathed heavily as he shut the door.

With the adrenaline slowly coming out of him, the reasonable part of Harry told him that the Ministry will be here soon. _No doubt they'll expel me from Hogwarts. _So he did what he thought he ought to do—live out as an outcast. He quickly packed his clothes and took out his trunk along with his wand. _No point on not doing any more magic. _Harry ran down the stairs and was met by an angry uncle.

"Turn her back now."

Harry merely gave him a patronizing look before getting out of the house and slamming the door behind him loudly.

Fury was still raging inside of him, so he walked—no, stomped—around the place. He muttered every curse word he can come up with that could've made a drunkard blush until he finally realized that he ended in the playground.

Harry sighed. He fully understood his dilemma. Oh yes. With this being his second penalty, he could never go back to Hogwarts. He would be sent straight to the place where people like him go. _It's all Aunt Marge's fault. _Anger started to fill him again. _I'll never see Hermione, Ron, even Dumbledore. _Harry idly wondered what the Ministry does to people like him.

A low growl snapped him out of his thoughts. Harry followed the source of the growl and realized with a twinge of fear it came from a big dog in front of him. _Probably a stray. _He raised up his arms and muttered, "_Lumos_."

Before he could examine the huge dog further, a loud honking sound startled him. Suddenly, as if it appeared from no where, a purple triple Decker bus came. Harry tripped over his luggage as he tried to dodge the incoming vehicle. Finally, a man holding a coin changer on his belt came out of the bus.

"Wha' are yeh doing down there?" he asked, puzzled at Harry's position.

"I uh, tripped," Harry replied weakly before he got up.

"Well, come on! Yeh raised yer wand, didn't yeh?" Harry nodded, "go inside the Knight Bus an' me an' Ernie here will take yeh wherever."

Harry reluctantly followed, but what choice did he have? He entered the Knight Bus, not knowing what hit him later on when he got out of it.

**-**

**---**

**-**

It's been six days since he escaped Azkaban but he finally arrived in Surrey. The journey to north has been tiring, if not aggravating. Sirius mainly traveled at night since many witches and wizards and even muggles are on a look out for him. This literally cut his time in half to reach Hogwarts. It was actually lucky that he was an unregistered Animagus. The Ministry would be trying to find a man while Sirius Black was in fact, in a dog's body.

Finding food was another matter. Sirius mostly received scrapes from muggle restaurants when he comes across them or picking berries when he needed to in the forest. It was a disgusting way to find food by eating leftovers, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. And at this point, he was definitely beyond begging. His journey in the beginning went off in a rocky start. Having starved from Azkaban, Sirius had to maintain his diet into a minimum at first lest he wants to upset his stomach.

The prospect of hunting down small prey crossed his mind more than once but the thought of trying to cook it without any means of magic—having his wand snapped in half by the Ministry—came along with it. In the end, he gave up all means of hunting since it merely tired him out. How good was hunting when you couldn't even come close to 5 feet without the prey bolting off?

Sirius sometimes risked on going in broad daylight, the thought of Peter killing Harry urging him on. The guilt of choosing Peter as James's secret keeper burned in his conscience and saving Harry from the real traitor was the only thing he can think of.

Heck, it was the only thing he could think of ever since he saw his picture in the Daily Prophet. Finding out that it was Peter's fault for all this mess and that he was still alive burned him to the core. He'll have his vengeance at last and finally set things right.

Sirius suddenly caught sight of his godson as the clearing opened. _He looks so much like James, but his eyes. His eyes are Lily's. _He followed Harry up to the playground and wondered what he was doing out so late at night. It angered him that his _guardians_ had recklessly let him outside, especially when Voldemort was still out there. Sirius growled at the thought and it captured Harry's attention.

The boy drew out his wand to examine him further, but it only brought out the Knight Bus. Sirius almost leaped up to try and push him away, but Harry's own reflexes saved him from bus. Thank Merlin!

Sirius sighed with relief before he turned around and resumed his journey to Hogwarts.

**-**

**---**

**-**

A week had past since Harry met Fudge personally. The 'talk' he had with him had been surprising but it still relieved him to know that he wasn't expelled from Hogwarts. Harry was even given a room in the Leaky Cauldron so that he wouldn't have to stay with the Dursleys free of charge…well, to him anyways. But to say that it had been totally great was slightly overrated. Sure, there was the 'no-unwanted-relatives' near him, and he can stay up late to catch up on his summer homework, but there were still some quirks.

For one thing, wizards and witches still gawked and pointed at him as they whispered excitedly and a few times, shook hands with him as he passed by. Total anonymity was completely gone. Harry thought that the unwanted publicity would go away, but the days that went by proved him wrong, if fact, it only increased. Apparently having something to do with that fugitive who escaped Azkaban. With his vacation from unwanted publicity gone, Harry realized it was one of things he actually missed during his stay at the Dursleys.

Another was that there were wizards that have kept watch over him. At first, he thought it was only his imagination, but over the days, he realized that they were following him. Subtly, but it was enough to be noticed when there was a nagging sense in the back of his mind that someone was following him for five days straight. Harry figured it was only to make sure that he kept true to his word to Fudge about not going to muggle London, so he tried to ignore the following bodyguards. But it didn't stop it from being annoying. For Christ's sake he wasn't a ten-year-old!

Oh, and that bloody obnoxious mirror in his room that kept on insulting Hedwig was another problem. Ever since he registered in the room, all the mirror did was compare him to its last tenant and rant on and on about why he shouldn't keep his owl any more. It was quite irritating really, especially when he wakes up to the sound of the mirror yelling loudly to get his bum to move.

Some vacation this was.

But the fact that he didn't have to stay with the Durselys for the rest of the summer and that he was still going to Hogwarts made him happier than his first experience of flying. Harry sighed with content as he finished eating his ice cream.

_Better get back to that Potions essay._

Harry stood up from his table and walked back towards the Leaky Cauldron, pointedly ignoring the hushed whispers that came along the way. He passed by Madam Malkin's store and a new uniform caught his attention. Potter walked closer to the store to examine the new wardrobe and read the label underneath it: _New Physical Defense Robes for Hogwarts Students. Only 20 Sickles a pair!_

"Oh yes, the new subject," Harry muttered to himself before going back to his walk towards his room. _Wonder why Dumbledore would set up that subject? _A sudden epiphany occurred to him, and Harry had to stop the groan that was about to come out. _What if it's exactly like gym back in those muggle schools!_

He knew that he was never good at this sort of things. Ever since he was in school with Dudley, Harry never really shown talent with gym. Nor did it help that he was always chosen last when it came to group plays. His body built was also another matter.

Whilst there were students in Hogwarts that have the 'athletic body', Harry knew he wasn't one of them; he had the body of a Seeker. He was light and small, not huge or muscular. If things turn out the same as it did for him when he attended muggle schools, he would definitely flunk this class. _Hmm, maybe I can get Hermione to create a potion for this kind of stuff..._Harry shook his head in dismay, hoping against all hope that all of his assumptions were wrong.

_This is going to be one…long year._

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**A/N: **Okay, so this was more of a filler than an actual chapter, but I needed this chapter as a 'bridge' to get to the next chapter. This chapter is shorter than what the last three was, but I promise it'll be longer next time. Review!

By the way, I was thinking on making this a part of a series, one that will take through Harry's 5th or 6th year. However, I am not completely sure on doing this, so if you'd please send me your thoughts on this and I will now how the future chapters will go.

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**Special Thanks To:**

_Anne-Marie- _nope, never explained it to me fully, but since you sound like you were about to explode on the 'butchering of your beloved characters', I'm not gonna even ask. LOL.

_buffyfan363- _Buffy messing up names is a perk that authors can use to hone their originality. Life, Buffy butchering up Hogwarts, Dumbledore, etc. but yes, I will never overdue it. The Sever-Us thing I did last chapter was something I couldn't resist, but as you will see in the future chapters, she will drop the nickname out. Hmm, the prospect of the gang coming over for a tiny-itty bitty- visit around the holidays tempted me more than ones, but it'll leave too many ties hanging out. I still haven't decided yet, but I was thinking of only bringing a couple of characters in the story.

_FallenStar2 -_whoohoo! Did I mention that I'm really happy you reviewed? Anyways, I've seen authors tend to put on a timeline during the earlier books but with Buffy being her 11-13 year old self. So I thought, why not change it? And by the sounds of it, it looks like its working. YAY ME! Yes, it is hard, but just like in the show, there wasn't an initial Buffy and Angel spark-age until Season 2. The colors of the room were designed to represent the school house colors. Yellow for Hufflepuff, blue décor for Ravenclaw, silver and green bathroom for Slytherin, and gold and red for Gryffindor. I thought it was appropriate. But yes, yellow is a very happy color, which is why I chose it for her main room. I thought 'Viddlewart' was pretty original 'cause I've never seen it used it before in a story. If there were, there are few of them then.

_Marz1-_Yes, and probably another yes. Since I've only written up to chapter 10, I am not entirely sure if I'll set up this story somewhat different than the canon. I mean, there might be some tweaks on a couple of scenes, but other than that, I can't say much else. As for the timeline, yes, Buffy did get hired before Sirius managed to get out of Azkaban. The story starts out five days before he did. And for lessons, well I guess you'll just have to see during Chapter 11-12, don't you? grins But lets just say, it'll be different from what most authors tend to use.

_sparky24- _(grins) why thank you! Anyways, yes Remus will be watching out for Harry in a scene, but it won't be the main reason why he will be there. I thought that McGonagall's reaction to Buffy's 'muggle clothes' was also funny, since I think it's a bit unorthodox for her to see a professor wearing clothes that most people would wear.

And thanks to **Whispering Darkness**for the review!

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_edited on 8-21-05_


	8. The Dementors of Azkaban

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Harry Potter. All of the characters, settings, themes, books, show, titles, worlds, names, demons, witches, slayers, creation, references, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., and of course, J.K. Rowling. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Story is set 1 year after Season 7 and five days before Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. Just for possible future references, the story will be happening during Angel's Season 5.

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews! As for Sirius's lifetime info, I just pulled out the year as much as I could infer out of the timeline, so if anybody knows the exact information, tell me and I'd revise the story again. Up next: the Dementors of Azkaban arrive in Hogwarts (hence the name of this chapter) and Buffy receives some interesting effects of their presence. Read to find out more!

**-**

**---**

Chapter Eight, The Dementors of Azkaban

---

-

A stray of sunlight managed to pass through Buffy's curtained barriers and into her room. It was a sure sign that morning had arrived and that the person lying across the soft, blue mattress needed to wake up. The said person muttered incoherently as the sun slowly crept up to her face, successfully bringing her out of her deep slumber.

"Stupid sunlight," Buffy cursed under her breath before covering her whole face with the blue blanket, "Nice bed," she added later with a smile as sleep claimed her again. It wasn't until five minutes later when Mr. Gordo suddenly entered her room, squawking impatiently for her to get up.

"I'm up!" she yelled, sitting right up just to prove her point when the bird began ruffling her hair. The Slayer could've sworn that Gordo was smirking at her before she grabbed the package attached to his claws. Not long after, a flock of owls came through her covered window, carrying a heavy duffel back by their feet. They dropped the black bag at the foot of her bed before flying off to the Owlery again.

She shook off the peculiar sight. It's been a week since she came to Hogwarts so the would've-been-odd sight didn't faze her at all. Buffy looked at the letter she snatched from Gordo. It was bound in a manila envelope and by the weight of the envelope it looked like it has several papers in it. Buffy curiously opened it.

A couple of letters came out along with a folder that was simply labeled _'Sirius Black' on the front. _Buffy started to read them and realized that the letters were from the gang. Willow sent her a couple of tips on running her class and left a determined note that flying broomsticks do not exist. Faith reassured Buffy that all was well and the slayers took the transition of leaders as well as the gang rather smoothly.

Dawn sent her several papers that she needed to fill out before she was able to go to college and some _'good luck!' _notes. Xander sent her several of her favorite swords, daggers, crossbows, and stakes in the duffel bag to which she was grateful for. When Buffy finally read Giles letter, she quickly perked up and all sense of sleep went away:

_-_

_Buffy_

_This was all I could find about Sirius Black. It's not much but I think it's because he was in the 'Wizardry World', as you call it, instead of ours. I dearly hope it would help you find what you're looking for. Best of wishes!_

_-Giles_

_-_

Buffy quickly grabbed the folder. _Giles wasn't kidding when he said it wasn't much, _Buffy thought dryly. It was only a police record with basic information of Sirius along with his mused picture. She read it over quickly:

_-_

_Name: Sirius Black Sex: Male_

_Date of Birth: March 3, 1969 _

_Height: 5"11' _

_Weight: 159 lb _

_Race: Caucasian (English)_

_Arrest Date: August 10, 1992_

_Age of Arrest: 22 years old _

_Charges: Arson and Murder _

_-_

_That's it? _Buffy thought angrily as she flipped the paper back and forth. _It doesn't have his address for crying out loud! And what do I need his fingerprint for?_

An idea suddenly came forth. Buffy couldn't contain her excitement further so she quickly got of bed and changed to some reasonable clothes. The portrait of Lady Lyra swung open with Buffy coming out of the other side. The Slayer ran towards the Library, hoping that her hunch was right.

"'Morning Madam Pince," she greeted the Librarian.

Madam Pince looked up from the book she was reading and was startled to see the new Professor. "Oh, hello Professor Summers. What can I do for you today?"

"I was wondering if the library has any newspaper article records?"

"But of course! It IS the Hogwarts Library after all. Follow me," Pince stated as she grabbed an oil lamp. "Can I ask what it is for?" she asked conversationally.

"Uh...just wanting to know what's been happening around here," Buffy said vaguely, hoping that she wouldn't ask anymore questions. Luckily, the librarian didn't press the matter.

"I see. Well, here we are. Just come up to my desk if you need anything else," she instructed before she left the lamp with Buffy and returned to her desk.

Buffy muttered thanks before completely going to research mode. She scanned the spine of the binders, looking for the exact date. Finally, after several minutes of looking through them, she found what she was looking for: _Wizardry News Around Britain-1991 to 1992_

She took out the huge binder and set it down at the nearby desk. Buffy began to flip through the pages until she found what she was looking for. The pages were old but the bold letters printed were clearly eligible. Buffy wasn't surprised of the celebratory shouts the wizards were saying in the newspaper. She ignored the cries of happiness and began to read the Daily Prophet:

-

**Vengeance After the End of His Reign?**

_It's a week since You-Know-Who's power has fallen and many witches and wizards are still celebrating—celebrating for the end of the War many has suffered for. Unfortunately, there are still some hostile activities coming from the Death Eaters when they were taken to custody and to Azkaban. Though many claim that they were under the Imperious Curse, there are still witches and wizards that are openly proclaiming their unending allegiance to him. Some are even causing a riot; clear evidence of their strong belief to You-Know-Who's practice._

_One such example is the case of Sirius Black. His attack against muggles and even a wizard in August 10, 1992 killed 13 muggles, injured ten Aurors, and killed a brave young man named Peter Pettigrew. There were many witnesses to the massacre—mostly muggles and wizardry civilians. The muggles were of course, given Memory Charms and was explained by a gas explosion caused by Sirius himself. The wizards and witches on the other hand, needed more explanation; especially on Peter Pettigrew's part. He was a friend of Sirius Black during his years in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Only a small part of Mr. Pettigrew was found after the massacre—his finger to be exact._

_It was said that Pettigrew attempted to calm down Black and bring him to the right sense of mind, but his actions proved to be futile. Mr. Pettigrew was blown into smithereens along with the street full of muggles by Sirius Black causing riot amongst the busy street. After all was settled, Peter was later awarded the Order of Merlin First Class by the Ministry because of his heroic actions. _

_A memorial service will be set up for those who died that fateful day..._

_-_

Buffy closed the book furiously. _It still doesn't make sense! _Though the facts in the newspaper were clearly stated, the man in her dreams proved otherwise. She groaned when a slight headache came. Buffy wasn't used to going full research mode, having the Scoobies to them while she went slaying for the nasties. In fact, the last time she was fully researching was when something was wrong with Mom.

A pang of loss suddenly came over, and Buffy had to shake away the lingering emotion. "Maybe I'll get something later," Buffy muttered to herself before checking out the huge binder out of the library. She walked towards her room, oblivious to the professor trying to catch up with her fast pace.

"Buffy!"

The Slayer turned around as she recognized the voice. "Remus. What brings you in this neck of the woods?" Lupin raised his brow at the saying, quietly asking where it came from. Buffy completely understood his look and quickly added, "Sorry. Old habits die hard."

"And one of your habits is using random sayings?" Lupin retorted dryly, a small grin forming on his face.

"Watch it. Remember what happened the last time you did that?" Lupin flinched at the memory and shook his head, as if it will clear it away. Buffy looked amused at his horrified face. They'd become closer friends in just a few days, though each one was doing all they can to avoid the somehow taboo subject. "So, what are you doing here? And note the lack of the pun."

Remus chuckled. "Duly noted. I'm here to get you. Professor Dumbledore's gathering the staff to see if anything goes wrong."

"Goes wrong with what?"

"The dementors. Fudge is bringing them today," Lupin grimaced at the mention of the creatures.

**-**

**---**

**-**

Everyone in the school staff seemed to have come to the gathering, Buffy noted. There were some professors that she hadn't even met yet, but all of them had the same grim look on their faces. Strict features, lips pursed into a thin line, and rigged forms, as if readying themselves to spring out their wands as soon as the situation was dire. Buffy suddenly realized how much despise they have against these dementors was. It even took out the slight twinkle she always found in Dumbledore's blue eyes.

They were just outside of the main entrance to Hogwarts. The professors—even Remus—were looking towards the road as if the dementors themselves would arrive there. Buffy shook the ridiculous thought away. _'...I firmly pressed to Cornelius Fudge-the Minister-that the dementors cannot pass within the school's boundaries...' _Dumbledore's reassurance suddenly found its way through her head and comforted her.

Buffy leaned towards Lupin. "This does include the school's boundaries, right?" she whispered lowly. Lupin frowned at the unexpected question but nodded anyways.

After several minutes of looking at nothing, several carriages pulled by the thestrals came into view. The vehicles halted in front of them and out came the Minister along with a handful of Aurors.

"Why, Dumbledore!" a short man with a green bowler hat suddenly exclaimed when he took sight of the professors. "Have you no trust with the aurors and the Ministry?"

Dumbledore managed to give out a thin smile. "I think it is best the more wizards and witches there are involved who are capable of helping the better if the situation grows dire." Buffy had to hide her smirk at the unmistakable annoyance at Dumbledore's voice. The Minister however, seemed to have missed it.

"Ah, well yes. Of course," Fudge stuttered out. "And a fine group of professors there are too. But you do know that I am doing this from the best of intentions—for the students, you know." An auror came up to Fudge.

"Minister, they're coming." Fudge nodded.

"Make sure the wizards hold their ground, McNeil." The auror nodded in agreement before sending out a signal to the fellow wizards.

"We shall see, Minister," Buffy heard Dumbledore mutter while Fudge gave out the orders.

She overheard the whole conversation, and wondered where the dementors were coming. Stifling a yawn that was urging to come out, Buffy thought that it would have been arrogant of her if she did otherwise. A sudden feeling suddenly gripped her heart. Such coldness consumed her that she felt as if she'll never feel the warmth of day.

Coldness surrounded her. Everything felt dead. Even the very air around her seemed to stop moving; as if something has hindered the soft breeze and replaced it with a cold, stagnant chill. Buffy looked over to the other professors to see if they felt it, but they showed no sign. Slowly but surely, she felt the coldness grow persistently.

A shiver ran through her spine and her hands suddenly became numb from the cold. Terror crept into her mind at what was making all of this silent attack. Buffy's instincts screamed for her to run, her Slayer side telling her to kill the source, but her feet on the other hand were glued to the ground, ignoring her minds protests.

Buffy gasped as a flicker of an image passed through her mind.

-

_A wrinkled hand shot out of the darkness and grasped her neck, its sharp claws digging into her soft flesh. The bearer of the hand came out of the shadows, and Buffy's heart started beating faster. The contorted face of the man smirked sadistically at her, the lust for her blood glimmered brightly in his yellow, demonic eyes._

_The vampire opened its mouth and Buffy saw His sharp fangs. She whimpered as the Master lunge for her throat to suck her blood dry..._

_-_

Buffy immediately shot her hand towards her neck (effectively ending the vision) but felt nothing except the scar she received from long ago. She shook her head, attempting to clear her mind from the past memory. Her breathing was short and shallow as if she'd been running for an hour. The professor looked at the rest of the staff, but they were still transfixed at the sky, searching for something.

Before Buffy could follow suit, another terrifying memory flashed through her head. The Slayer cried out of the pain, bringing her down to her knees and dropping the binder she borrowed from the library.

-

_Darkness filled her vision once she opened her eyes—the shadows almost suffocating her. Buffy thrashed her hands, attempting to get out of the case she was in. There was barely any room to move, which made her even more claustrophobic. It was nothing but blind panic and pure fear that fueled her actions. Tears started to form at the corner of her eyes, asking the heavens silently what she'd done to deserve this._

_She was finally in a happy place. No rules, no pain, no worries, hell, even no duty to do. Buffy was finally content, as if a piece that she just realized was missing in her heart was found. She even saw Mom, glowing in her own beauty before she was suddenly ripped out of the heavenly plain. _

_Buffy cried out once more when she saw dirt come in after she broke through the wooden casket. The smell of fresh soil filled her nostrils and it was almost nauseating. Instinctively she knew that the only way out was up so she began digging her way through the compact dirt. Buffy closed her eyes shut as she came in contact with more soil and furiously began clawing her way up._

_It seemed like an eternity but her hand finally came in contact with the cold breeze from above. With a grunt, Buffy clawed herself out, suddenly hearing her name being called._

"_Buffy..."_

_It was like a beacon of light through all the despair. Warmth began to fill her again, and the thought of never feeling it once more scared her._

"_Buffy...!"_

_The voice was becoming more urgent. She finally got herself out of the ground, and everything felt better despite her recent mishap. But still, Buffy couldn't bring herself to open her eyes, too content of just breathing the warm air and feeling the life around her._

"Buffy!"

The Slayer's eyes snapped open, only to be met by several anxious faces and immediately closed her eyes. She was lying down on a soft mattress—wait, mattress? _Where am I? _Buffy groaned and tried to sit up but was pushed back down by someone. She struggled to keep from growling out when a round of dizziness hit her.

"You are not getting out of that bed, young lady. Professor or not, your health is in serious jeopardy," a firm voice came from the hand. Buffy was about to tell her that super fast healing was part of the Slayer package but a soft voice to her side interrupted her.

"Madam Pomfrey is right. You did give us quite a scare," Buffy turned to the voice and wearily opened her eyes. The Slayer was taken aback at Remus's paled features.

His face was paler and his eyes were dulled from an unknown pain, wondering why she didn't see it before. _Must be nearing the full moon then. _Buffy shook away the shock when a round of nausea hit her. She suddenly realized how tired she was making her ever more curious. _What happened?_

"Remus? What the hell happened?" Buffy moaned as she tried to sit up again but felt the firm hand of Madam Pomfrey on her shoulder trying to put her back down. Fortunately for Buffy, much of her Slayer strength she already recovered so she merely batted the becoming annoying hand away.

"Its fine, ma'am," she said politely. "Other than the fact that I don't know what's going on, I am just peachy." Buffy turned to an older woman dressed in what looked like 18th century nurse garb. Madam Pomfrey still didn't look convinced but she too knew who Buffy was and just let out a sigh.

"Fine. But you'll have to drink and eat this," the nurse produced several chunks of chocolate and a steaming mug of hot chocolate on a tray. _What kind of hospital is this? _she mused, but she wasn't complaining. Hell, replace the antibiotics and IVs any day with this!

With a grin, she took the tray happily and started munching on the chocolate. Surprisingly enough, the sweet snack gave her another surge of warmth and immediately felt a whole lot better.

"So, care to...tell me...what happened?" Buffy asked between bites. Lupin stood aside and Buffy saw several other wizards, mostly the professors looking almost as worried as Lupin was.

Dumbledore caught sight of her and smiled.

"Ah, Buffy. Thank goodness you're fine," McGonagall sighed with relief.

Buffy grinned at the older professor. "Not fine, just peachy," she corrected before taking a swig of the hot chocolate, "are guys telling, or do you want me to ask again?"

Before they could launch on to an explanation, the Minister came in the room. Buffy heard Madam Pomfrey next to her sigh agitatedly at the added guest but kept silent. It _was _the Minister after all. "Well there you are! It's a fine thing you're awake. Wouldn't want to have to explain why you suddenly thrashed around when the dementors were at least a hundred, fifty feet at the least, away from us, you know."

"…What?"

"It's true, Buffy. We were watching the dementors gather up in the sky, but they weren't in the school boundaries. We never even felt them. Just saw them," Lupin explained to her.

"So, you didn't feel the cold, cold, and dreary thing they had going on?" Buffy asked confused why she was the only one who felt it like that. She could have sworn those dementors were nearer. If that was the effect of those ghastly things were anyways.

Everyone shook there heads. There was an uncomfortable silence that followed forth, and Madam Pomfrey took the silence to her advantage. "Well, if you lot have nothing else to do here, I suggest getting out of here. Professor or not, Miss Summers is still a patient and needs all the rest she could before the term starts. So everyone, out!"

The professors and even the Minister left at her sharp bark. Fudge sent her a wary glance before closing the door. It was then that Buffy realized the Dumbledore stayed behind.

"When I said 'everyone' Albus, I do mean everyone," Pomfrey sighed exasperatedly.

Dumbledore chuckled at her attitude. "Don't worry, Poppy. I just need a quick word with Buffy here," the Headmaster pointed at Buffy who looked at the nurse pleadingly. Pomfrey glared at her attempt to sway her decision but went off in a huff anyways.

When she finally went inside her office, Dumbledore closed in on her. "How are you really doing, Buffy?"

Buffy shrugged. "I'm fine, though not in the mood I was before_ they _came in. I could still feel them, Dumbledore. It's faint, but I know they're still there," Buffy added solemnly. It was true. Even after she was brought up here, fed with all the yummy goodness, the unmistakable feeling of the dementors lingered. A taunting feeling that mocked her weakness.

The Headmaster sighed as he took a seat on a chair near her. "It's probably because of your Slayer abilities. I assume that you could 'sense' demons and monsters of the like when you go off in patrol, right?"

The Slayer nodded. "Hell, I can even sense the magic you have going on in your castle, much less the creatures you have in your own backyard," Buffy pointed at the window that opened to the Forbidden Forest.

Dumbledore ignored her language. "Like I've said before, the dementors are one of the foulest creatures that stride amongst the earth. Even muggles can feel them so it's only natural that you'd be able to sense them better than most could. I'm afraid of your well being for the rest of the year, Buffy; especially since you are sensitive to their presence. I honestly don't want to think about your nightly patrols when they are hovering around," Dumbledore pointed out to her.

Buffy glared at the subtle hint of taking away her privilege of doing her patrols. It was the only thing that she held onto that reminded her of the good old days. "I'll find a way around them, Dumbledore," she said determinedly and he was taken aback at the fiery look she on her eyes.

Inwardly, he smiled at her determination. "If you say so, Buffy. But you need to rest for now. I don't want Poppy yelling at how I kept you up too long. Goodnight."

**-**

**---**

**-**

It's a couple of days after the incident when Madam Pomfrey finally let Buffy out of the hospital ward. But even then, Buffy had to do a lot of convincing. There were signs on her face at how the dementors have been affecting her. Her features were paler and there were slight bags under her eyes; sure signs of the restless nights she had.

Buffy had been having recurring nightmares every time she slept. Madam Pomfrey was forced to give her a Sleeping Potion so that Buffy could actually rest without the haunting memories. The potion quickly became the Slayer's new friend despite the fact of hating on being dependent on drugs. When the nurse finally let her out, Buffy was sent with a bag full of chocolates.

She quickly walked to her room, wanting to avoid the staff as much as she could. The task was nearly impossible when she realized that there were ghosts and Mr. Filch walking around the school. Buffy cringed when she heard the voice of a particularly nasty poltergeist.

"Ooh! The new professie already lost in the big, big castle?" Peeves the Poltergeist cackled at her.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Go away Peeves, else you want me to tell on the Bloody Baron that a certain ghost wouldn't keep his mouth shut?" Buffy warned him, just like what Lupin told her to do so when Peeves came to them one time.

Peeves only laughed at her. "Looks like little blondie has some bark! As if the Baron will listen to _you. _A Yankee and a newbie," Peeves snorted arrogantly.

_So, he doesn't know, does he? This might be interesting, _Buffy grinned. "I see. Do you want to know a secret, Peeves?"

Peeves smiled maliciously before schooling his features in what he thought was an innocent face. "Of course, Professor Ma'am. This Peeves can keep his secrets." Peeves leaned in closer to her when she beckoned him.

"Ever heard of the Slayer?" He shook his head. "Well, a Slayer is like this. She was born to fight evil nasties in the world, including demons, monster, ghosts, and even annoying little poltergeists. They're so strong, that it was said that they had the strength of ten fully grown men. One particular Slayer managed to defeat a god once and do you know where she is now?" Again, he shook his head. "Right at you."

If ghosts paled, Peeves would have been whiter than a cloud on a bright day. "I-I'm s-sorry, Professor Ma'am Sir. D-didn't know what came over m-me. This Peeves will be on better b-behavior if you d-don't d-do anything...unnatural to h-him," Peeves stuttered out with big eyes.

"Go, Peeves. And if I hear students saying that I am one, I'll know exactly who to exorcise," Buffy grinned when Peeves bolted out of the corridor and out of her way. _That was way too fun._

The Slayer quickly found her room, and all sense of humor was lost. She saw the binder she borrowed from the Library with a note attached to it:

-

'_I hope you find what you're looking for._

_Best of luck!'_

_-_

Buffy turned the note around, wondering who it came from. Shaking of the eerie feeling that someone knows what she was doing, Buffy tossed the small parchment to trash bin. She walked over to her desk and set down the package of 'healthy' chocolates and began writing a letter to Giles:

-

_Dear Giles-_

_Something came over Hogwarts today. They're called dementors and they were sent by the Ministry to look for Sirius Black. But they're more than just the average search squad. Giles, something came over me when they arrived. I felt all cold and stuff, like I will never feel warm again. Ugh, I don't know how to explain it but I saw myself with the Master and...digging myself out of the grave. It's like all my bad memories came back. But the bigger badder news is that I felt them from a hundred feet away while the other professors just saw them. And with school coming up and all…well, you get the picture._

_Really need your help and probably Willow's as well. How's everything back in the front?_

_Buffy_

_-_

The Slayer signed the parchment before walking towards Gordo and asking him to deliver the mail. Buffy glared at the direction of the dementors, cursing their very beings. After she got tired of making up random insults, she changed back into her usual pajamas before falling to an uneasy sleep.

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**A/N: **There you have it guys. Like I've said in the previous chapter, I was thinking of turning this into a series, but I am not sure if I will. So thoughts about this are very much welcomed.

Oh and if you want to know _why _I made Sirius in his mid 30s- if you did the math while reading it- think it like this. Sirius was sent to Azkaban for twelve years, right? So, if Sirius is around 36 years old in this story, subtract 12 from that, and you'd get a 22 year old Sirius, which I guess is the same age Harry was just 1 year old. Any younger, and it'll throw the whole thing off. On that time, he was framed by Peter Pettigrew and was sent to Azkaban. If Sirius and James were the same age, James and Lily would've been married when they were around 20-21 years old which gives them enough time to conceive and raise Harry before Mr. Big and Bad comes in and kills them.

As for his birth date, this is another matter. Sirius was named after a constellation that only comes during the winter season—half of December through a part of March. I just picked out a random date and here is Sirius's birthday. And for the year. I know it might sound kind of old but again, hear me out.

This story is written on the year 2004. If we subtract 12 years from that, it would be 1992-Harry being 1 year old. Subtract another 5 years-the years Sirius spent after his graduation-and it becomes 1987. Subtract 7 years-years spent going to Hogwarts-and it would be the year 1980. Minus 11 more years-the years before going to Hogwarts-and Sirius would have been born in 1969. But then again, most of them are just my assumptions, so if anyone knows the right dates, tell me.

Other than welcoming you to the world of math...REVIEW!

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**Special Thanks To:**

_Anne-Marie- _yes, after I've finished the last chapter, I felt disappointed that it came out as a filler. I wanted it to be a 'bridge' into the other chapters and not 'just' a filler. But, seemingly as I was quite satisfied with how I created a bit more story to that scene in the book, I was willing to keep. This chapter will hopefully definitely make up for the last one, so reviews-again- are much MUCH welcome.

_FallenStar2- _I wanted the scene with Aunt Marge so horrific that even the readers can't help but feel repulsed to her actions. And it looks like I did it. You're the first to actually say something about the series...which made me sad. Thank YOU for saying something...but I'm still sad. Oh well.

_sparky24- _thanks for these corrections! I would never have seen them if it wasn't for you. Well, maybe I would, if I looked at it closer. I am hoping that this chapter met up in the grammar arena, so review if I did...or don't.

_Spikeywolvie- _um...the topic around relationships has been tiresome while writing this, so I'll just give you a flat out answer. The answer is that there WON'T be any shippers in THIS story. If I do decide to write the series thing I was planning, then there's a chance that I'll make one. However, I must remind you that I cannot be certain that it will be a Spuffy romance. Please don't abandon reading and reviewing this story just because of this. Thoughts from every one are very much welcomed.

_sonofgloin- _yes, I did kinda feel that the book or the movie didn't give much idea of Aunt Marge except that she was rude and fat...er, 'big boned'. So, I decided to. I mean, it gave Harry a deeper anger to his relatives and it built up his character a bit. LOL! Yes...it'll be nice to see the boy-who-lived live up to his name during Physical Defense...heheh. C'mon! Though Buffy (the actual show) never really gave a whole depth into how they trained the Slayers to fight-the fundamentals and weaponry- I can imagine that it is hard considering they were Slayers.

Send YOUR review!

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_edited on 8-21-05_


	9. Of Warnings

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Harry Potter. All of the characters, settings, themes, books, show, titles, worlds, names, demons, witches, slayers, creation, references, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., and of course, J.K. Rowling. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Story is set 1 year after Season 7 and five days before Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. Just for possible future references, the story will be happening during Angel's Season 5.

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews! Up next: Lupin finally reveals his not so secret identity to Buffy while she finally meets the Potions Master. Read to find out more!

**-**

**---**

Chapter Nine—Of Warnings

---

-

Sweat started to form around her brow, but Buffy still didn't wake up. She groaned and cringed and tossed around restlessly on her bed, the bed sheets twisting around her as she did. Buffy gasped at the intensity of the dream, but still didn't wake from her obviously restless slumber.

-

_Everything seemed to be in a haze. There was a fog everywhere and through it all, she saw flashes of lightning. It was as if she was inside a storm cloud. Buffy walked around endlessly, cringing at times when the clasps of thunder got too loud._

"_Hello?" she yelled out uncertainly. A sudden flash of bright light occurred and it momentarily blinded Buffy. She was startled to see herself back in her old house in Sunnydale once her vision cleared. Everything was the way it was before the First came to town._

_It had the same homey feeling; even the slight scent of air fresheners Mom sprayed around the house was there. Mom...Buffy quickly turned to the living room and saw something that made her gasp._

_Her mother was lying down the couch unmoving, her beautiful blue eyes glazed and morbidly staring at nothing. Buffy's heart wrenched at the sight. In the back of her mind she knew that this already happened, that this was just a recurring memory, but it didn't stop her from rushing over and shaking her furiously._

"_Mom? Mom! Mom wake up!" Buffy shook her, trying to snap her out of her stupor. Tears threatened to spill at the corner of her eyes, but she held them back. She can't show weakness, not now. Her skin felt so cold and her form was limp...lost of the life it once held. _

_She was so used to this cold body temperature when she dealt with the undead it felt sick to feel it on one so close to her heart as her mother._ _Sobbing pitifully as she shook her form once more, Buffy couldn't believe the thoughts everything led to. "Mom...don't, please...Mom!"_

_Flash. _

_Everything disappeared as if it had never had been there before. In fact, the only thing that kept Buffy from wondering if it even happened was the heavy sobs she was emitting and the chilly temperature on her chest. Before she could compose of herself again, another flash of light blinded her vision, only this time she could only hear anguished memories._

"_You're going to die tonight..."_

"_If you walk out of this house, don't even THINK of coming back!"_

"_Hello lover."_

"_Every Slayer has a death wish..."_

"_In the end, we're always alone..." _

"_Death is your Gift."_

"_You came back wrong..."_

"_Death is on your heels, baby. It's only a matter of time when it finally catches up to you."_

"_From beneath you, it devours..."_

_-_

Buffy finally woke with a start, panting heavily from the dream. She touched her head and felt as sweaty as she usually would when she'd be training. The Slayer wiped her tear-strained face dry. Tired though she was, Buffy knew that sleep wouldn't come as easily as before.

_I knew I should've taken that Sleeping Potion! _

Glancing over at the small clock on the wall, she cursed at the dementors with vigor at how early it still was. With a huff, she grabbed a hair tie and went to the direction of her training room. Buffy started wrapping her hand and wrist with her wrist guards before punching out her anger and ironically, her fatigue, away on the poor punching bag.

It was several hours later when she finally managed to calm down. Panting heavily, she found a glass of water on her bed side table, left by one of the house-elves. Buffy suddenly realized that Gordo was back in her room, looking very much tired. She smiled pitifully at her brown owl, knowing exactly what made him fatigued.

"Nasty dementors hurt your game, Mister?" Buffy cooed and received a tired answer from the owl. "Guess I'll have to use the Owlery then." Gordo nodded and closed its eyes for a well-deserved rest. The Slayer felt the dementors faintly walking around the forest. It was almost eerie at how she could feel them so far away. Buffy shook her thoughts away, found the reply back from Bath, and eagerly opened the package.

A small necklace and a couple of letters came out. Buffy eyed the jewelry appraisingly; thankful it wasn't like the tacky necklace she received from Angel a year ago. She picked up the letters and began reading them:

_-_

_Buffy-_

_Willow managed to enhance this crystal that might protect you from these dementors. Surprisingly enough, there are books recorded of its existence. After some extensive research of finding what they are, Willow found the right spell to cast on the jewel. _

_The dementors are attracted to every human. It's the very emotions of a person that attracts them. They feel the doubt and fear of a person, and they take away the person's positive emotions, making them live through their worst moments._

_The charm Willow found was easy enough. Like I've said before, dementors feed off from human emotions. The spell creates a small but effective barrier around you against them. However, I fear that even with its strength, too many dementors at a time will weaken the barrier. So do NOT push your luck with this._

_You have a three feet radius around you before you start feeling the effects of the dementors. They cannot come near you at this distance, but again, too many at a time will weaken the spell. Wear the crystal all times! I highly suggest meditating for the time being as well. It might lessen the effects of the dementors though not enough that you can stay near them at a long presence of time. _

_Many Wishes,_  
_Rupert Giles_

-

Buffy smiled at Willow's ingenuity. She wore the simple necklace and felt a whole damn lot better. The nagging Slayer part of her that was telling to kill the dementors finally settled down and the tingly sense of the dementors from far away also diminished.

_Go Willow!_

She picked up the next letter and realized it was Faith's:

-

_B_

_Everything's five by five. Couple of demons here and there, Slayers from around the world sent back their first records of their first week up in the front. Some rough and tumble in South Korea but nothing the Slayers couldn't handle. Dawn's getting her supplies for Oxford, and that's one hell of a book list. The rest sends their luck._

_Faith._

_-_

In spite of the bad situation, Buffy smiled. It was nice being kept in the loop of all things. With a sigh, she decided to write a response to Faith and a grateful note to Giles. After writing the letter, she went to the direction of the Owlery to send her mail. She came back to her room to change from her sweaty clothes.

-

---

-

Snape glowered ominously at whatever direction he was facing. _Damn that wolf. _His mood hadn't been the best when Dumbledore turned him down YET AGAIN for the position of the Defense Against the Dark Arts and gave it to…_him._

The quill he was holding nearly broke under pressure before he gained control over his mobility once more. That is, freeing himself from that spurt of anger released by the mere thought of that damnable werewolf. To think that Dumbledore chose Remus over him was…argh! Insufferable indeed!

Add the fact he now turned brewing one of the hardest potions known to wizard-kind into a chore—well, this year would really be tolling on him. Oh, and had he mention the arrival of a certain bubbly professor? Slayer or not, this twit looked like she could be broken in half by something simply…trivial.

Pfft. And he had fully hoped that _she _would dispose of his bane before he even reached Hogwarts. Ah, life was cruel indeed. She didn't even looked like she knew he was a werewolf for Merlin's sake! How can…

Wait. She _didn't_…

That's it! Could it have been possible that even the fabled warrior missed the fact that that werewolf was actually a _werewolf! _

A growing smirk startlingly appeared on his pale face.

Things might be looking up after all…

**-**

**---**

**-**

The Slayer finally came out of her own private room some time later. Buffy finally decided on doing some of the tasks she listed on doing to set up her lesson. She stopped by the Great Hall to grab a quick breakfast (unable to spot Remus for a short greeting) before she decided to pay old Hagrid a visit first. Buffy took her time getting there, enjoying the free feeling of unable to _feel _the dementors around. Despite the recent dream she had, the Slayer couldn't help but whistle a merry tune while munching on the small muffin. It was some time later when Buffy finally arrived at Hagrid's hut.

She politely knocked on the wooden door and forced a smile to the person who opened the door. "'Morning Hagrid!"

"Well hello Professor. Do come in. To what do I owe tha pleasure o' meetin' yeh? Tea?" Hagrid offered as they settled down on his living room but didn't receive a response. Buffy couldn't help but stare at the odd assortment of trinkets and other objects that hung off his ceiling. She was suddenly broken out of her stupor when a huge, gray dog jumped on her and began liking her face.

"Eep!" she squealed, startled at the friendly assault. Buffy was pushed back to a huge chair where the grey dog kept on licking her, "Hagrid! A little...help...would be...nice!" she gasped out between laughter.

Hagrid roared out a laugh before he beckoned the dog with a whistle. "C'mere Fang. No sense of licking the Professor to death."

Buffy eyed the drool all over with distaste once the dog was off her. She didn't know what was worse; the inevitable dog breath all over her, or the drool. The Slayer wiped away all of the saliva but knew that her shirt was beyond repair. With a sigh, Buffy turned her attention to Hagrid. "Hmm, what? Oh, no thanks. I'm more of a coffee person," Buffy declined the offered tea.

"I was wondering if you could help me with something, Hagrid," she started after a pause. Hey, no sense for idle chit-chat…even if this was done for a favor.

Hagrid's eyebrow rose. "Wha' kind o' something?" he asked, slightly suspicious.

"Nothing much. Just moving in some illegal muggle drugs into the school," Buffy said deadpanned. Hagrid's eyebrows comically shot up and Buffy had to laugh at his reaction. "Don't worry, Hagrid. It's just for my subject and all. I already asked Dumbledore if I could do this and he gave me his permission."

"Well then. Wha' would this thing be?" Buffy grinned as she explained her need.

Several hours later, the task was complete. Hagrid said that it was charmed with an Anti-Cheating Spell so if any student decided to slack off his task, she would know. A protective barrier was also cast around it, so no harm will come to the students. Buffy left him a huge thanks, grateful for the help she received.

The Slayer stopped by Professor Flitwick's office and managed to get him to charm her weaponry cabinet. He reassured Buffy that only she would be able to open the glass cabinet and that it will never break under any circumstances. The professor was thanked as well before Buffy went off to lunch.

While walking towards the Great Hall, she was stopped by Professor McGonagall. "Buffy! Professor Dumbledore needs to talk to you."

The blond professor trotted up to the Headmaster's office. She gave the password to the gargoyle that suddenly twisted up and revealed the set of stairs. Buffy walked up the stairs and entered Dumbledore's office.

"What d'you want to talk about, Bumblebee?" Dumbledore raised his brow at her sudden cheerfulness. It was only yesterday when Buffy was finally released from the hospital wing; yet she was almost as happy as when she first arrived. The Headmaster never doubted Madam Pomfrey's skills at healing, but he could've sworn that the professor standing in front of him was still worn out from the dementor's presence.

Buffy caught his surprised look and took out the necklace under her shirt. "I told you I'd find a way," Buffy reminded him. "I have a friend who helped me out with this annoying situation. So, I'm up and ready for patrol."

"Of course," Dumbledore laughed. "Now, it has come to my attention that you and Remus haven't talked about each other's...current state." He said vaguely, thinking that she'd catch up to his meaning.

"What? With me being a Slayer and he a werewolf and I'm supposed to do my sacred duty of killing off all big bads that threaten mankind?" Dumbledore slowly nodded. Not exactly the reaction he expected, but hey, whatever, "Yeah...about that. We haven't talked about it," Buffy said flippantly as she took a seat on one of the chairs.

The Headmaster raised his eyebrow. "Would you care to elaborate that?"

"Hmm, I guess we never gotten to that round of conversation yet. I mean, what should a girl like me supposed to say? 'Hey, I'm a Slayer and you're werewolf. I'm supposed to hunt you down. But don't worry, I just want to be best friends?' I think not," Buffy replied dryly.

"Yes well, he had been rather confused with you. And with the full moon coming up, things are getting more complicated for him."

Buffy sighed. "Dumbledore, the reason _why _I didn't go all third degree on him is that everybody has a secret. It'll be up to him to tell me about his 'state' like you said and not to pry him. Speaking of which, you do have a way to contain a werewolf right?"

"Of course; Severus has been making him a potion that will let him have his current state of mind during his transformation. Not many wizards are able to create this type of potion, so we're very lucky to have Professor Snape doing this for us. It has just been recently discovered," Dumbledore explained. Buffy nodded, thinking about Oz.

"So, are we done here?"

"Not even close," the Headmaster smiled. "I need to tell you a system in the school..."

**-**

**---**

**-**

The Slayer massaged her aching head as she got out of Dumbledore's office. _Bloody school and its system... _She sighed as she walked back towards her room, wondering if Hogwarts did anything remotely muggle-like. Buffy laughed at the absurd thought.

"People are considered to be demented when they laugh at nothing," a cold voice drawled behind the shadows. The Slayer bristled on instinct but immediately calmed down when she realized who it was.

"Hello, Severus," Buffy coolly greeted. Over the past week, she had never had the pleasure of meeting the Potions Professor, having been too busy touring Hogwarts. The only time they had actually met was during meals in the Great Hall and even then it was only a few times, and the first wasn't exactly the best, "and it's considered rude when someone interrupts one's thoughts. Now excuse me, I have to be somewhere." Buffy turned to leave, but Snape followed her. "You know, when I said 'I', I didn't mean 'we'," she told him pointedly.

Annoyance started to grow when he didn't stop following. She tried shaking him off several times, but he managed to find her one way or another, having better acquainted with the castle and all. "Do you need something, Severus?" she finally asked, exasperated. Buffy stopped walking and waited for a response.

Snape looked at her coldly before saying, "You haven't talked to Remus, have you?"

"Talked about what?"

_Damn, this girl was clueless._

"You as the Slayer. Everyone in the staff knows what you are, and _Lupin_ is no exception," Snape spat the name, ignoring the urge to roll his eyes.

Buffy on the other hand, rolled her eyes at his antics before started walking again. "Now what would make you think that?"

"He wouldn't be as relaxed around you as he is now," the Professor stated as if it was the most obvious thing. "You're a killer, Summers. You hunt down people like Remus and kill them. It is in your instincts."

The Slayer halted in front of her room. She rounded on Snape, eyes flashing angrily at his assumption. "I rather use the term 'slayer', _Snape. _As for the instincts part, it's true. I am supposed to destroy the demons out there that plan on hurting the innocent. But there are some creatures that don't intend on suddenly destroying the world and those are the creatures I don't 'kill', to borrow a few words. And since when did _you_ started taking interest about Slayers?"

"Ever since Dumbledore announced that _you _are coming here and Remus came back in one piece," he sneered. His dark eyes narrowed to a leer. "You should watch who you befriend, Summers. You might only know them skin-deep." With that, he left for the other direction in the same fashion he did last time.

Buffy glared at Snape's retreating back. "And you should watch what you say!" she yelled, not letting him the final word. _Jerk. _With a final huff, she gave out her password to Lady Lyra and entered her room. All sense of annoyance was suddenly lost when she saw the old binder on her desk.

After changing her ruined shirt, the Slayer walked towards her table and grabbed the borrowed item. She sat down on her chair and opened the binder to the appropriate date and began researching.

Buffy began scanning for anything she might have missed several days ago. Unconsciously, she fiddled with the necklace Willow gave her just awhile back while she read. Several minutes later, Lady Lyra appeared behind her canvas, surprising Buffy.

"You could've told me you can do that," the Slayer chided at the sheepish English girl.

"I'm sorry Professor, but you have a visitor outside who wishes to speak to you," Lyra apologized. Buffy's eyebrow rose before she suddenly scowled in annoyance. She closed the binder and placed it aside before walking towards the portrait. _I swear, if it's that Dracula wannabe..._

But it wasn't the Potions professor that was on the other side of the painting. In fact, it was a very weary Lupin who was smiling forcibly at her despite his condition.

**-**

**---**

**-**

Remus paced around his room nervously, trying to figure out if he should talk to Buffy about being a werewolf. He had been avoiding her ever since the day the dementors arrived several days before. Even though he had the nagging voice in his head that she _knew _what he was, Lupin couldn't bring himself to tell her out loud. Because actually saying it meant facing her with the whole truth about what he was along with her reaction.

But every time Lupin pushes the thought of talking to her away, it quickly comes back when he sees her smiling welcomingly at him. A thing few people ever did once they realize that he was a werewolf. _Which is exactly why I can't tell her! _Lupin reminded himself. Their friendship meant so much to him, that telling her might jeopardize it.

_She would've already known what you are if she is indeed the Slayer, _a rational voice wormed into his head. The werewolf groaned as the same round of thoughts came back again. _And besides, the full moon is coming tonight. It's better if the truth came out from you, _the voice added.

Lupin contemplated the thought. _It might be better...there's only one way to find out, _he thought determinedly. With a nervous sigh, Remus stopped pacing around and went to Buffy's room.

_I hope Albus finds my remains…_

Unconsciously, he clenched his sweaty palms inside his ragged robes as he walked towards her portrait. Lupin mentally practiced what he was about to say to the Slayer. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even realized that his feet stopped in front of Lady Lyra.

Someone cleared their throat loudly enough to bring Lupin out of his thoughts. "Would you like me to tell Professor Summers you need to talk to her or shall you stand there looking at nothing for the remainder of the day?" an amused portrait asked him.

The werewolf gave her a look. "Calling her will be preferable," he replied dryly. Lady Lyra chuckled before disappearing. There was a loud yelp from the other side of the painting, which Lupin assumed was Buffy. Finally the portrait swung open, revealing a surprised Slayer. Lupin forcibly smiled at her, his gut wrenching at the inevitable talk they were about to have.

"Hello Buffy," his voice was steady despite the feelings he was having. "Can I come in?"

"Sure, Rem," Buffy opened the painting wide enough for him to enter. Remus entered her room and nervously sat down on one of the blue couches. The Slayer followed suit and looked at him questioningly.

After a few minutes of waiting, Buffy finally started talking. "So, are you gonna tell me why you're here or am I supposed to guess?"

Before he could stop himself, Lupin suddenly blurted, "I'm a werewolf." Remus was tempted to smack his head at his lack of self-control but managed to stop the action. _There was supposed to be a whole speech before the bomb for crying out loud_! Instead, he forced himself to meet Buffy's amused eyes that were staring at him. _Wait, amused? What in the blazes happened to the lunging to kill me out of instinct? _

"I know," she replied back with an amused grin. Confusion instead of fear coursed through the disbelieving werewolf.

"Y-you knew? Since when?"

"Hmm...so today's Tuesday," Buffy looked up as if to ponder the answer, "Since ever," she finally said, "They don't call me a Slayer for nothing, Remus."

Buffy stood up and walked over to her desk as if the conversation was over. Lupin followed her, unwilling to let down the subject easily. A part of him told him that he should be happy that his head was still intact. But there was another part that was just screaming for an explanation. "So you've known. All this time."

"Isn't that what I just said?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lupin snapped, suddenly annoyed at the blonde professor in front of him.

"What did you want me to do?" Buffy pointedly asked, eyes narrowing at his tone. "Proclaim I'm the Slayer and that I know you're a werewolf, let's be best buddies? Hardly the best line for meeting people, Lupin. Besides, I would have thought that it would be better if it was up to _you t_o tell me what you are. Guess I was wrong."

Guilt came over him. So the girl was only thinking about his feelings, eh? "Sorry," he apologized, regretting for having snapped at her. Lupin sighed as the situation turned into a different, much unexpected, way. "But why aren't you on me? You know, on the hunt and going with your Slayer instinct?"

Buffy raised a perfect eyebrow at him. "You know, I got the same thing from Snape awhile ago and I'll say it again: there are creatures out there that don't have humans in their main menu and ending the world as their hobby. I expect that you don't fit in any of these categories since I doubt Dumbledore will let you teach if you were, so what's the point of slaying you? Unless of course, you want me to."

"No. That won't be necessary."

"So why the sudden interrogation of not killing you?"

"Isn't that what you're supposed to do? Kill demons?" Lupin asked bitterly as he classified himself as a 'demon'.

"I don't think you heard what I said before, Lupin. I don't slay every single demon out there just because they go bump in the night. Hell, I've befriended a couple of vamps, Clem, an ex-Vengeance demon, and a werewolf before. The world isn't all black and white, Remus. Although everything would be SO much easier if it was. Just because they're demons doesn't mean they're all bad. And look at humans. We have souls yet some of us still do murder, drugs, and all that jazz," Buffy told him.

Lupin looked at her surprisingly. "Never knew you were one to be so perceptive, Summers," he said, slightly mocking.

Buffy ignored the joke and took it as a compliment. "It comes with the package."

Remus suddenly remembered what she said. "Did you say you had a friend that was a werewolf?" The Slayer nodded. "What happened to him?"

"After a bit of some rough stuff relationship-wise with him and my friend, he went to Timbuktu for a 'searching for himself' thing. He came back for a visit but it was a short one," Buffy shrugged. "Haven't heard of him since then."

"How did you control him when he transformed?" Lupin asked eagerly.

"We usually caged him. But when he gets a little bit rougher, we use a tranquilizer gun. It's a thing muggles use that shoots this thing that injects a sedative that completely knocks him out," Buffy explained at his blank look. "Anyways, it's nothing compared to what you must be taking."

Lupin shrugged. "I wouldn't be able to tell," he sighed as he started walking around her room. Inside, he felt as if a heavy weight was lifted off his shoulders and the annoying butterflies in his gut were finally gone. Finally, he could have his appetite back!

Buffy looked at him, amused at how he was handling the new revelation. "Feels good doesn't it?"

That got his attention. Lupin stopped walking and looked at her quizzically. "What does?"

"Getting it out in the open"

Remus gave out a laugh. "Very much." He did feel so much better now that he had it over with. "Thank you, Buffy."

"For which part?"

"Pardon?"

"For not killing you and going all 'all demons must die' on you or for answering your questions?"

Lupin laughed. "Both. How are you feeling by the way?" he asked, remembering that she was just released yesterday from the infirmary.

Buffy took out the necklace under her shirt. "Great. Got a friend back in Bath that gave me this after I told her what my situation was."

Lupin looked at the crystal with curiosity. It didn't look like it had anything special in it. "What does it do?"

Instead of answering him, Buffy took out the letter she received this morning and gave to him. Lupin's eyes widened after he finished reading it. "Ingenious," he muttered lowly, but Buffy heard it.

"That's Willow for you."

Lupin didn't look like he heard her. "It's just like a Patronus Spell."

"A patro-who?"

"A Patronus. It's a spell that creates a barrier out of the happiest memory a person has. Mind you, it IS a high leveled spell but it's the only thing that is known to drive the dementors off. Well, _is, _until now," Lupin answered back before he stopped examining the crystal. "Anyways, I should head back. Thank you once again, Buffy."

"Anytime."

Lupin smiled at her before leaving the room. _Told you it would've been better, _the voice in his head suddenly spoke up and the werewolf had to fight off a chuckle that was threatening to spill out.

Yes, it truly was better.

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**A/N: **So, you guys like? I know, its mostly about Lupin' spewing out his not-so-secret to Buffy...but I wanted a chapter for that. Anyways, reviewing should be a virtue. Say your thoughts by doing it. Remember guys, I'm still thinking about doing this as a series, so vote for your thoughts!

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**Special Thanks To:**

_buffyfan363- _lol. Your welcome! I appreciate every single reviews and hopefully this satisfies your curiosity on how Giles and Wills are helping good ol' Buff with her dementors dilemma.

_Dawn- _...the chosen romance is posted up in the beginning of every chapter from the 4th one up. This story was about to become a Spuffy story, but I changed it into a neutral one. However, because of the fact that I am thinking of turning this into a series, there might/ will be a romance in the future, but NOT in THIS story. So you won't have to be disappointed.

_sparky24- _haha. Well, yay for me then. Okay, so that's two votes for a series thing. Thanks a lot!

_spikeywolvie- _thanks a lot! Um, with that investigation thing by the Trio, you'll hafta see for yourself in the future chapters. Expect the three of them to arrive around the next chapter, and for Buff to actually start teaching in around 12-13 chapters. So stick around!

And thanks to the rest who took their time to review this story!

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_edited on 8-22-05_


	10. Into the Hogwarts Express

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Harry Potter. All of the characters, settings, themes, books, show, titles, worlds, names, demons, witches, slayers, creation, references, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., and of course, J.K. Rowling. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Story is set 1 year after Season 7 and five days before Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. Just for possible future references, the story will be happening during Angel's Season 5.

**Author's Note: **…aheheh…To those who haven't read my notes in my profile during all this time, I'll save you the trouble and just get right on with the story. Oh, and I HAVE been editing the past chapters and I'm done with them. Hopefully forever since I don't plan on looking back and reediting them again. Phew. Nothing major has change, actually…the only thing that can be considered 'major' is the little scene I added on the previous chapter. Kudos to those who find it? Reviews are MUCH MUCH MUUUCH welcomed.

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Chapter Ten—Into the Hogwarts Express

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-

"So…what are you going to do after this?" Buffy asked conversationally as they strolled through the dark foliage.

A figure came up next to her, shrugging at her question, "What _does _a person do after this?" then grinning when he saw the blonde's annoyed face.

"You know, _Remus, _when I ask a question I actually need an answer, not a question in return. It's like an opening act, like the comedian or the host before the real show," the Slayer frowned slightly as if thinking over her analogy, checking if it even made sense. Shrugging, she failed to see Lupin's amused-confused-pointed look, "Or something to the like…"

Patrol had started for almost 2 hours now and things had been going pretty slow, considering this WAS the Forbidden Forest and all. In fact, Buffy hadn't had a 'real' confrontation with any creatures in this oh-so-Forbidden Foliage ever since she started patrolling a month before.

The only situation that got her heart remotely beating faster than normal was the not-so-normal sized spider (holy hell that was HUGE!) she walked by once. And even then it avoided her at all cost afterwards after she gave an un-warrior like cry.

It was quite odd, in Buffy's opinion, that with all the power emanating from this pace, not a single vamp was found. Sure, there were the creatures that made residence out of this spooky forest, like many of the staff said, but they weren't exactly in need of slaying. Okay, so the place needed extreme pest control when it comes to the spiders but who could slay such an ethereal unicorn? It would be like killing the very creature she once fantasized of having when she was a kid!

The whole scenario became quite annoying once she realized that there were no demons to slay. As much as she was reluctant to admit it, Buffy missed the newbie vamps who struggled to get out of their graves. It was such a comical sight when a vampire with a game face suddenly got stuck by a persistent tree root!

But it was all gone now.

Nyeh. Buffy sighed for the umpteenth time that night. "This is boring with a capital 'B'. I don't even know why Dumbledore would think that Voldemort will be trying to stay here. Nothing big and bad will happen!" Buffy paused, leaving her sudden outburst lingering in the air.

Although slightly cringing at Buffy's loud way of saying the Dark Lord's name out loud (for Dumbledore did it too and he was now used to it), Lupin looked around as if something was supposed to happen. Several minutes of silence passed before he was finally fed up and pointedly asked, "Are we supposed to be waiting for something?" waving his lit want to prove his point, annoyed but clearly amused.

Buffy sighed, seemingly admitting her defeat. She turned to the other professor beside her with a childish pout as they started walking again, "See? Even the jinx thing doesn't even work here."

-

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-

Harry woke up with a tired yawn. He blinked away the lingering sleep and forced his tired eyes to stay open. _Why am I so tired? _He asked himself before remembering what they did last night. _Oh…that. _

The Weasleys, along with Hermione, arrived yesterday in Diagon Alley. All of them bought their supplies, but Harry—who already purchased his—merely followed them and talked animatedly about the past month.

After all the items were bought, an exceptionally large feast for all of them followed suit that night. A last celebration before the term starts, if you will. Even though they all knew that tomorrow was going to be a long day, they still stayed up late. But it wasn't the lively celebration for the end of the summer that tired Harry out, but the conversation he overheard between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Now _that _kept him up.

-

"He deserves the right to know, Molly!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed to his wife tiredly. Obviously, this had been an ongoing debate between the two of them. And it hadn't just started tonight.

"_Arthur, telling Harry will only burden him further more. And the poor boy can't hold on with that around his head; especially with school coming up and all," Molly reasoned back to her husband._

_But the other Weasley wasn't easily persuaded. "Dear, I know telling young Potter that Black is out to get him will frighten him a tad bit, but he needs to be up on his guard. The boy needs to know! Sirius Black is on the hunt for him and probably even KILL him for the sake of You-Know-Who's death. Harry needs to stay alert!"_

"_A TAD bit, Arthur? Try a whole lot! And I don't know why you're pushing this subject, Arthur Weasley. Hogwarts IS one of the safest places in the wizardry world, not to mention that it is now heavily guarded with spells and charms as well," she retorted back._

"_We all thought Azkaban was enough to keep Black locked up but look at where he is now. Escaped! How will we know he won't be able to pass through Hogwart's barriers!"_

"_Well the dementors for one—"_

"—_the dementors," Arthur repeated with a snort, "he managed to give them the slip didn't he? Who is to say he can't do it again?"_

"—_And Dumbledore for the second," Molly continued, ignoring the interruption though giving him a chilly glare, "Arthur we all know that he is the only one You-Know-Who feared. Harry will be safe under his protection."_

_-_

At that point, Harry stopped listening; he heard enough of the conversation to keep his thoughts well occupied for the rest of the night, possibly even through the next few weeks as well. _So Black is out to get me, eh?_ He thought to himself. The dark-haired teenager snorted at his situation. _If Voldemort isn't out to get me, one of his servants is._

"Are you going to stare at nothing again or are you actually going to do something worthwhile for a change?" the mirror sneered, bringing Harry out of his thoughts.

With a well-placed glare and a mutter of 'like burning you?' under his breath, Harry quickly changed into some reasonable clothes. Seriously, if somebody told him that a mirror will be insulting him during his vacation in his stay here, he would've checked himself out a long time ago.

A loud knock came at his door, bringing him out of his musings, "Come in."

The visitor was none other than Ron. "You ready mate? Everyone's downstairs with their luggage. We only have half an hour to get to King's Cross and with you still dressing up…well, you get the image."

Harry indeed got the picture and looked sheepish, "Sorry. I guess I overslept."

"Your snores didn't," the mirror added. Harry blushed lightly when Ron looked at him with a smirk.

"C'mon then," Ron said finally, "Mum sent me to tell you to hurry up. I was actually glad; Percy's getting on my nerves about the whole 'Head Boy' thing he has going on. I hope he realizes one day that news _do_ get old."

Harry chuckled at his red headed friend. "Guess I better bring you back down again, eh?" Ron smacked him as they went down the stairs.

"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," Harry greeted, despite the fact he overheard them arguing last night.

"Oh good, Harry, you're awake. Grab a muffin would you? I'm afraid we can't have a proper breakfast with the time pressing and all," Mrs. Weasley stated though not unkindly. But it still managed to get Harry to feel sorry about his tardiness all the same.

"Well kids, the cars are here, so get in!" Mr. Weasley yelled over Fred and George's sniggers at Percy's charmed badge some time later. "Harry, Ron, Hermione, you're up with me," the trio looked at each other with puzzlement but only one of them knew what it really meant. A loud protest suddenly came out of the twins, preventing the other two to ask about it.

"Oi, we're not kids! _That_ is such a generic term."

"Besides, we're already on our fifth year!"

"Which makes _us _fifteen according to our birth certificates…"

"And thus, we are humanly dubbed as…"

"TEENAGERS!" The twins exclaimed at the same time. Both were glaring at their father, silently demanding to take it back.

"You two are _just _teenagers and compared to _me_, you are _still _kids! Now not a ruckus in the cars, Frederick and George Weasley; and believe me, I _will _hear about it," their father scolded them sternly before ushering everyone out of the inn.

"Eh, you'd think Dad would be a touch sore 'bout his age…" Fred muttered under his breath while Fred whined, "Why does Dad have to use my full name?" Ron and Harry had to fight off a snigger at the comments whereas Hermione was the only one who rolled her eyes at their antics.

Yet despite of Mr. Weasley's warning of ceasing the trouble, there were much hassle of getting and out of the charmed limos and a mere 5 minutes was left for the group to get into the King's Cross barrier. Funny how they always have to rush to get into the train, no matter how early they left.

When it was almost Harry's turn to pass the enchanted platform, Mr. Weasley stopped him and dragged him to a darkened corner where no one could hear them. "Harry, I need to talk to you. There's not enough time, so please don't interrupt me. It's about Sirius Black—" he started.

In spite of his earlier request, Harry intervened, "I know, Mr. Weasley."

"You know? Harry, I don't think you understand—"

"I know Sirius Black is out to get me, sir. I er, overheard you and Mrs. Weasley talking about it last night," he quickly explained, a sheepish look countering the older man's questioning one. Much to his surprise and relief, Mr. Weasley shook it off.

"Ah well, doesn't matter…but promise me Harry, promise me you won't go looking for Black."

"Why would I go looking for someone who want to kill me?"

Apparently, Mr. Weasley took this as a joke and persisted again, "Promise me, Harry!" Finally, Harry nodded, smiling grimly inside at the irony of it all.

-

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-

Buffy stared outside of the train, looking curiously at the stream of students that were coming out from the barrier and into the locomotive. It was actually quite fascinating to see students coming out of a wall; like a really cheap magician trick but minus the trick and the cheesy magician and replaced with the real deal. Which, she guessed, made it quite the sight since she knew that it wasn't smoke and mirrors.

But getting back to the point of being in this train on the first place; Dumbledore had asked them (she and Remus that is) to guard the train to make sure nothing unexpected comes from the dementors. With a slightly maniacal grin, she fingered the torch she had on her side while finally moving her attention from the window.

Incidentally, they all (all being she, Lupin, and Dumbledore) accidentally found out that dementors weren't quite so found of fire. It was a major breakthrough for having slight and easier protection on the unwanted guests, but none was as pleased as Buffy was since it was her only way of making any damage at all to the hooded creatures. Hey, throw in some TNT and gunpowder, add a squirt of gasoline plus a lighten match, and voila! Dementor e la roast. It would be graduation all over again.

Downside was, like her pendant, it could only do so much damage with the amount of, hah, firepower that she currently had. Dumbledore raised an amused brow but gave an un-amused answer when she asked if it would be all right to order the big guns. Oh well, life was still peachy with the new information.

So armed with a torch and an enchanted silver Zippo, Buffy was set and ready to defend her reputation AND the train full of kids. The lighter was reasonably charmed so that the precious fuel wouldn't run out, to which the Slayer was grateful; she hadn't planned on spending money on lighters whenever it lost its juice when she joined the staff. Oh, and the cool tricks she learned on flipping the lighter on and off was fun too.

A shrill whistle signaled the train's departure, bringing the slayer out of her thoughts. She smiled amusedly as a skinny boy scurried towards the moving train with his trolley. Loud chattering of the students became the new background noise and needless to say, it made her feel all but fine.

_Crap. Term officially starts tomorrow and I'll be teaching them. _A sense of dread overwhelmed her.

Sure, bring on the hoard of demons and she can take care of herself, but a group of kids? Oh dear god, she would need all the help she could get to survive the ordeal.

'…_Be relaxed and comfortable around them, but still show your authority. Press your foot down at your decisions yet let them have fun. Be understandable and open to all students and they will respect you in no time,' _Willow's tip from her recent letter suddenly resounded in her head. Surprisingly, the words suddenly gave her comfort, if only slight.

Having no one to talk to (as Lupin was stationed in the back), gazing at nothing and getting lost in her thoughts was the only thing preoccupying her. Well, that and playing with the Zippo. Hmm, no wonder Spike carried one everywhere. Her door compartment graciously swung open, saving her from the road her thoughts would inevitably lead.

A plump woman carrying the tray of sweets smiled at her, "Good afternoon, Professor. Can I get you anything?"

"Just a couple of those Chocolate Frogs and a bottle of butterbeer, thank you," after paying the required amount, the trolley-woman went back her merry way of selling the treats to the already hyped-up students.

Buffy grinned at the box, recalling on the first time she tried eating one. It was just the day after she was brought in the infirmary and Hagrid came in for a visit, bringing with him several of the delightful treats. To say she was surprised at the charmed chocolate was an understatement but after that first encounter, she had grown to like snacking on them.

Opening the box, she caught the enchanted chocolate before it even had the chance to jump off. Buffy ripped its legs with some kind of unavoidable demented amusement and popped it in her mouth, enjoying the sweet taste of the treat. "Nothing like some chocolate frog legs on a dreary day," Buffy muttered to herself as she looked out of the window.

It was raining outside, horribly in fact. The storm clouds covered the 'should have been' sunny skies and shadowed the lands with rain, rain, and why yes, more rain. _So this is jolly ol' England._ Buffy sighed, wondering if the other professor was at least having a bit more fun that she was.

-

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Sleep. Oh, dear god it was sleep. Sleep that he had missed during his restless nights he spent as a cursed wolf. So it was no wonder that his head fell soundly while the rest of his body succumbed to that mind-shutting function no one could live without when he and Summers hopped on the train. Hmm, more like ran to, actually.

But in any case, guarding the train can be put off for awhile for surely, even the presence of children (much less the dementors) would wake him up before anyone catches him either snoring, drooling, or both with his mouth wide-open.

At least, that was what Lupin told himself. His theory fell graciously apart when the well-known trio hushed into silence when he himself stirred sleepily to find a better position, oblivious that the train was already heading back to Hogwarts, bringing the noisy student body with it.

"Who'd you reckon he is?" Ron whispered to the other two. After finding that every compartment was filled with gawking students when they saw Harry, they retreated to the one occupied by a snoring professor. A small price to pay for privacy, he guessed.

Hermione shrugged, "It should be one of the new professors. But I highly doubt that he's the one for Physical Defense."

"The bloke doesn't even look like he could teach a class, let alone teach _Physical _Defense. By the way, do you have any clue what the subject would be like?"

"Honestly Ron, the subject basically gives the idea. Physical Defense…we'll have to defend ourselves without any means of magic," she replied back, almost chastising-ly.

"I _knew _that," though his face clearly stated otherwise, "What do you think, Harry?"

They simultaneously looked at their best friend who hadn't even spoken a word since they came in the train. The two gave each other questioning looks. "Erm, Harry?" Hermione asked, waving a hand over his face, checking if his mind was even anywhere close where his body resided.

Although he didn't even bat an eye, he did finally acknowledged their presence, "I need to talk to both of you." He then went off to tell about what he overheard last night between Ron's parents, as if he had been meaning to tell them for much longer. The receiving end of his ill news stared at him with awe and concern after he finished his tale.

"Oh Harry, that's just horrible!" exclaimed Hermione, looking at him with sympathy.

"Yeah, mate. Sucks to be you."

"Ron!" Hermione started, incredulous at her friend's tactlessness.

"What? It is," Ron added under his breath when she finally looked away with a huff. Harry gave a grin at his friend's antics, obviously amused at the dry humor; it lifted up the situation slightly, so to speak. His red-headed friend turned to him and gave a reassuring look, "Don't worry Harry. Dumbledore would've already gotten the place bombarded with security if that's the case."

Before Harry could response to that, the compartment door flew open, revealing the group of Slytherins they've come to despise. "Malfoy," he grounded out through gritted teeth.

_Waay_ to be a mood-killer.

"Oh lookie here, boys. If it isn't the Stinking Trio. No wonder this part of the train was positively reeking of your grime," his rival sneered. Crabbe and Goyle sniggered at his small jeer, although it sounded more like grunting pigs to the opposite three.

Hermione stood up, clearly infuriated, while her eyes blazing with anger at the intruders. "Well pardon our 'reek' but you three aren't exactly a sight for sore eyes," she snapped back, body poised at a cocky manner.

"Oh, do learn to know your place, Mudblood," Draco retorted aloofly at the Gryffindor. Ron made a move to lunge at them to defend his friend, but Harry and even Hermione held him back.

"Take that back, snake," Ron icily demanded, his new and better wand pointing at him. In an instant, Malfoy's cronies whipped up their own, spells already forming at the tip of their tongues, ready to shout them at any other movements.

Malfoy on the other hand, didn't seem to take the situation as a threat, "What are you going to do, Weasley? Make yourself eat slugs and barf all over yourself?" Ron blushed scarlet at last year's incident, serving to make the Slytherins laugh even harder than they were before.

Ron glared angrily as red-hot fury coursed through him, burning his insides with the indignity that always came at the mention of last year's embarrassing memory. With gritted teeth, Ron repeated, "I said: _take that back. _Snake."

"Pah. Don't let your lucky win this summer get into your head Weasley. Do you think just because that that pathetic excuse of a wizard you call your 'Dad' won that Galleon Prize at the Ministry that you think you're better from what you were before? Hardly. You'll always be that poor little weasel like the rest of your _family _forever," Draco sneered.

Oh hell.

Harry knew the Slytherin pushed a spot in Ron, but he wasn't about to let him have the satisfaction of knowing it. His hand found Ron's shoulder and gripped it reassuringly while preventing him from lunging out again at Draco. He wasn't worth a detention at the beginning of the year, anyways. Before he could say anything else, however, a loud grunt of a snore resounded from the corner, and everybody went quiet.

"What's the lump?" Crabbe finally grunted stupidly after a minute.

"Oh that? That's the new DADA professor," Harry said as he turned around slowly, "Would you like me to wake him for you? Although…he _might _be wondering why a bunch of no-good-doers are here, wands out and ready to attack some Gryffindors."

Malfoy glared at him, but knew better than to attack a student right down a professor's nose. No matter how…_dirty_ they looked. "You got lucky this time, Potter. Just don't expect to be when we get back to Hogwarts," Malfoy signaled Crabbe and Goyle to put down their wands and left the compartment.

It was only after a minute or so when Harry and Hermione finally let their hold on Ron go. "That GIT!" he seethed, positively boiling at that point. He was still red in the face, almost matching his trademark hair. Hermione and Harry looked at each other, knowing it would be better if their friend would just let the built up anger out.

"How dare that…self-important, idiotic, moronic, pompous git come in here, parading like he bloody owns the damn train?" Ron fumed, walking around in the restricted apartment.

"Ron…don't curse," Hermione chided albeit meekly. Sure, she too would have been infuriated if Malfoy's insults was directed at her, but she had never seen her friend like this before and it unnerved her quite a bit.

But her best friend didn't seem to have heard her at all as he continued to rant without stopping a beat, "When I get my hands on that bloody Slytherin he'll wish he was dead!" then went off fuming incoherently on ways on how he was going to do just that. Harry saw Hermione stand up to try and calm him down but shook his head. As if reading his thoughts, she sat back down, trying to block away Ron's mutterings as they grew darker and much more…inventive.

It wasn't until several long minutes later when Weasley finally calmed down enough to stop his mutterings, although Harry noted that he was still a little red. From anger or lack of breath, no one would ever know. With a dry grin, he asked, "Better?"

"Oi, much," Ron replied back with a sigh, "I just don't understand how the professors still keep him around Hogwarts with that attitude. Isn't there some kind of rule about harassing other students? Really, how blind can they be?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe because his father has so much influence in the Ministry, much less the school might be one," Hermione pointedly told him, "AND the mask of deception. Malfoy puts on a façade for the teachers, another for the rest of us, while he wears another one for the rest of the Slytherins and his_ groupies_," she added with a scoff. "Everyone does it; it's an immediate impulse to most people, while others can hide it a bit better—having a mask that is."

The brunet finally realized the questioning stares directed to her by both of her friends and flushed, "What? I read about it while I was in France. _Psychology of the Mind_. I could lend it to you if you'd like."

Both Harry and Ron declined the offer almost immediately, using the thought of future homework they were bound to receive as an excuse while thinking internally: 'is she NUTS?' But before Hermione could reason with them, a slow screeching sound made them suddenly notice that the train was pulling over to a stop.

"Finally! I am positively starved—erm, Harry? 'Mione? Aren't you guys coming?" Ron noted when he was the only one standing up from the three of them; well, four, as the professor continued to sleep away.

"Ron, don't you think it's a bit strange we arrived here this fast? I mean, I don't recall Hogwarts being this near…" Hermione mused as she tried to peer through the dark shroud as rain poured down.

Ron was about to retort when a sudden cold draft swept through the room. All of them turned towards the window, somehow expecting it to be open. However, they only found signs of frost claiming the glass, as it usually would do during mid-Winter. And it was anything but. As their breathing became ragged, they idly wondered why they suddenly saw their breath in the compartment when it's just past summer.

While the train suddenly wobbled into a full stop, Harry had to stop himself from lunging out of his seat. "What's going on?" he whispered, not daring to break the eerie silence that covered over them. Like in a horrible horror-movie, the lights above them gave a flicker before dying out on cue.

Several started screams resounded throughout the whole train as loud bangs of closing and opening doors reinforced it. The trio heard their door open, "Harry, Hermione? Ron?" a voice called out through the almost blinding darkness.

"Ginny?" Ron called, recognizing his sister's voice, "Where are you?"

"Ouch! Ron, I have a face you know," Hermione muttered under her breath as his searching hand accidentally hit her face.

"Sorry. Ginny where are you?"

"Right here," Ginny assured his brother once their hands found each other. Harry yelped when she stepped on his foot, making the youngest Weasley apologize profusely.

"Quiet," a small but strong voice suddenly commanded. They all hushed in silence and looked over at the corner of the compartment. The unknown professor finally got out of his makeshift blanket (his tattered coat), his face illuminated slightly by a single ray of moonlight that managed to break through the frost covered window.

"Sorry Professor! We didn't mean—" Hermione started.

"That's quite alright, Miss. But please, do be silent," his voice was still raspy from his recent nap, "Now, is everybody seated?" a chorus of 'yes' came from the students, but before he could answer back, the temperature felt like it suddenly dropped several more degrees.

The whole train became quiet, too quiet for everyone's tastes. They felt coldness seep into their very bones, chilling them inside out. Harry felt fear blossoming from his very heart; as if every nightmare he had, both recently and when he was young, would come. His palms became clammy with cold sweat as the frightening situation lasted. They suddenly saw a dark figure pass by the translucent doors of their compartment.

Harry felt his fear grow even stronger as his breathing became even more labored. A mangled hand slowly opening the door was the last thing he saw before the darkness from his own sub-consciousness surrounded him this time.

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Buffy almost spilled the amber liquid on herself when the train hauled into the inevitable stop. She heard students wondering loudly at the odd turn of events before the lights went out and she cringed when the loud shrieks and startled yelps from them disturbed her heightened hearing. With a sigh, Buffy rubbed her ears to cease that annoying ringing.

_Ah, so the inspection came at last, _Buffy dryly thought, finding the experience absolutely detestable. They had a similar one when they were on their way to King's Cross before, but it didn't make the situation any more comforting. If anything, it only served to make Buffy hate it even more. Sure she had the needed weaponry, but to fight an opponent that brings out the worst of her experiences coming back at full flight was something no one, not even the Slayer, could look forward to.

Outside, the loud murmurs from the students were getting in even louder, signaling Buffy to come out of her compartment. Fingering her torch and the smooth, metallic Zippo, Buffy muttered, "Showtime," before making a mantra of 'think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts' in her head.

With a determined stride she had used countless times, the Slayer got out of the teacher's compartment and into the students'. Like the she predicted, students were running around, confused at what was happening. A grin formed on her face when she flicked her lighter with one hand and lit the torch, bringing some attention towards; some.

"Listen up! I want everybody in their compartments. No running, pushing, _yelling, _and even talking for that matter; absolute silence, do you hear? I know you're all confused, but trust me, all of your questions will be answered back in the comfort of old Hogwarts. By the time this whole inspection is over, call me or one of the other wizards here in the train if anything wrong happens." A pregnant pause followed suit. She eyed them critically, noting that some of them were already experiencing the effects of the dementors, "Now would be much preferable," Buffy added forcefully and the students were snapped into life again and did as they were told.

Walking towards the end of the first compartment, Buffy went to the next one as she picked up hushed whispers about her. Although it did not falter her steps, it did however managed to creep a prideful smirk unto her face; whoever said Slayers were humble was a certainly mistaken. The smirk promptly fell off when she saw a dementor was hovering inside the next compartment.

Thankfully, the students here had enough sense to keep quiet and reside inside their respective compartments.

The Slayer felt a faint pulse around her neck, surprised to see that the necklace Willow gave her was alternating with a faint red warning with its original clear color at a steady beat. She grinned at the small crystal, thanking the Wicca mentally for a smaller and quieter version of an alarm.

Buffy looked back at the dementor, her torch high and proud by her side, "Sirius Black isn't here, dimwit. So leave the students and the train and bring the draft with you."

Thankfully, there was only one dementor in this section of the train, which made everything so much easier to a point where Buffy almost thought it was too easy. It turned towards her, sniffing the wanted criminal out as it came closer. Finally, it gave a terrible shriek as if it suddenly got insulted (although she highly doubted it was from her earlier slander) and began gliding towards her at a frightening pace.

Although blanching from its unexpected move, Buffy held her ground and warned it once again to leave the train, but as expected, the dementor ignored her advice. The frightening creature drew out its equally frightening hands, trying to grab its not-as-frightened foe.

She instinctively bristled when she saw the dementor lunging out to her but she hadn't forgotten the weapon she currently held on her right hand. With a feral grin, she too made a lunge and a mad swipe with the torch, having every intention to maim the wretched wraith. Her strength and speed proved to be greater than the dementors and it exited the one of the open widows with a howl.

The heart-stopping shriek was apparently some kind of signal and it was soon met with the rest of the dementors. They all left after a moment or two, leaving with them the unnatural coldness they brought by their mere presence.

As the adrenaline rush began to fade away from her body, the train instantly began coming back to life (so to speak), and it went back to its merry way of traveling towards Hogwarts. She gave out a tired but satisfied grin when the dementors were now, nowhere in sight.

When she came close enough to hit the dementor, the sudden feeling of complete and utter fear closed in on her and it was only through sheer will and the countless meditation sessions she had that stopped her from fainting. Plus, the built up momentum, of course. Yet needless to stay, the close encounter still took quite a bit of her strength from her, leaving her a little bit more than breathless.

"What…exactly did you do to those dementors?" a student piped up from behind her, and Buffy realized that several curious students were surrounding her. The question came from a boy who remarkably looked a certain vampire.

Again shaking that nostalgic feeling, she gave another tired grin and answered back, "Oh you know, just a little show of who's boss around here. You are?"

"Draco Malfoy, Professor. These are Crabbe and Goyle," the kid introduced himself as well as the students that looked like his friends. A short smirk formed at the corner of his mouth when he realized that she was an American. An American professor…_teaching_ at Hogwarts.

"Well then Mr. Malfoy," obviously oblivious to the suspicious grin, "I would suggest that you, along with the rest in this train, on going back to your compartments and change into your uniforms. We'll be arriving at Hogwarts a little later than the norm, but I think that a nice warm castle will be better than here, wouldn't you all agree?" several dry chuckles were heard throughout the section of the train.

"Now, I'd say goodbye, but you'll see me later at the feast, so I guess it's a simple 'tah'!" Buffy waved her hand as she walked towards the train, careful to not burn any hair along the way. As she was about to open the door to the next compartment, a distraught student from the other side flung it open.

Behind her, she heard Draco mutter spitefully, "Granger," and wondered what caused the animosity between the two.

"A-are you…Professor Summers?" Granger stuttered between pants of breath, barely giving the still-flaming torch a flicker of a glance.

"The one and only. Now what happened?"

"Professor Lupin asks for your help."

In a second, she and the Professor were out of the compartment and heading for next one. As worry thumped beneath her chest, Buffy began to see multiple scenarios of what happened. All of that changed of course when they saw the other professor looking back at them calmly.

"Professor Summers," he greeted almost cheerily, and even Buffy had to raise a brow at the startling behavior. Students all around them were looking at the two quite curiously, chatting amongst themselves of either who was teaching what or what in the blazes just happened.

A suspicious look formed on Buffy's face. "What happened, Lupin? This girl—Hermione, was it?—told me you needed help. And way too cheerful after an inspection, Rem."

"Well, pardon me if I attempted to lighten up the mood, Summers, but I just needed you to stay here while I talk to the conductor. So if you please?" Buffy rolled her eyes and signaled him to go. "Oh, and Harry, do eat that chocolate. It'll certainly make you feel much better."

Before he turned to go, Buffy gave a fake cough to get his attention, "Uh, Lupin. Would you mind?" she waved her torch around carefully and had to endure a pointed look from him before he waved his wand and extinguished the fire. "Thank you."

As Lupin turned to leave, Buffy on the other hand entered the small compartment after telling the other kids to dress up since they were nearing Hogwarts. She set the unlit torch next to the door and scanned the group in front of her with interest.

Although she wasn't exactly here when the apparent trouble began, Buffy had a pretty good guess when she looked over at the black-haired kid who was holding a chunk of sweet-chocolatey goodness while staring off at god knows where. Hmm…he almost looks like he's brooding.

"You know, it's scientifically proven that chocolate doesn't really give you pimples, kid," Buffy started conversationally, bringing Harry out of his thoughts as well as gaining all of the uneasy attention towards herself.

She suddenly got the feeling that all they wanted to do was talk about what happened and she was only in the way. Ouch—but hey, would anyone really talk openly when a stranger right there in clear hearing shot? Thought so.

The dark-haired boy blushed embarrassingly, "Sorry Professor. I guess I'm…still dealing with those…creatures."

"Don't worry about it. And take out the professor when we're out of classes; formalities are so not my forte. Call me Buffy…uhm…okay, I don't posses the ability to suddenly go 'poof' I know your name," she quipped, more for lightening up the mood than being her goofy self. _Remus was right, this DOES need some serious mood lifting._

Harry looked at her with some kind of amusement, not being used to having a young and bubbly person as a professor at Hogwarts. Or not being recognized immediately by people of her stature. "Ah…my name's Harry Potter…Buffy," he introduced himself and was quite glad she didn't become different stiffen with awe. Instead, she just turned to the rest of his friends while they to presented themselves.

"Hermione Granger. Pleased to meet you."

"Erm, Ronald Weasley, sir. I mean ma'am! I mean…ugh," Ron trailed off, visibly embarrassed at his tongue.

"Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister."

"Pleased to meet you," Buffy smiled at them.

"Will you be teaching Physical Defense then, Buffy?" Hermione asked curiously, already getting used to the first name basis.

"Yup. Hardly doubt Professor Lupin could do it," she added laughing jokingly, "Really, no offence—the brains, the personality, and the magical talent he has down to a 'T'. He even has a temper when riled up to it…but in his condition…nah, he's much better at teaching the other position. Besides, I heard he was really good at it when he was in Hogwarts."

The train slowed to the another, and final stop, signaling their arrival at the Hogsmeade station, "Well, this is our stop. See you all at the Great Hall and Harry, really, the chocolate is not poisoned and it works like magic. And pardon the pun," the eccentric, though in a good way, professor added with a wink before heading out, torch and all.

"That was…interesting," Ginny commented loudly, staring at the professor's retreated form after several minutes passed.

"A bit unorthodox from the usual professor, if you ask me," Hermione stated though not unkindly, "but I'm curious to know why she has that torch. It's not like the train needed anymore light…"

"Who cares? I like her," an admiring glint appeared in Ron's eyes as he ignored an annoyed look from her.

"At least she's no Snape."

"Or Lockhart." A shudder ran through them as Harry added the last bit. He finally took a bite from the chocolate and felt an immediate sense of warmth; any lingering effects of the dementors had disappeared (or in the process of) and left an almost cozy feeling.

The shrill whistle signaled them to get out of the train and into…rain, mud, and fog. Oi. What a nice cheery way of starting off the new term. Ginny had already left the trio for her own friends, leaving them to find their way to the carriage.

"Potter!" a loud (and painstakingly familiar) voice called out, breaking Harry out of his thoughts. Suddenly aware that everyone was looking at them, he tried to ignore their curious faces, just like he ignored the Ministry's men who tailed behind him.

"Malfoy." Really, of all the times he had to pick up a fight, it had to be out here and with him and most definitely Ron (who stiffened right next to him) at the end of their patience.

"Was it true? Did you really faint when the dementors came?" Draco said in a baby-ish tone while he dramatically mimicked a faint, "Too weak to handles some prison guards, Potter?"

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry snapped, unable to hide the furious blush of embarrassment that came.

The beginning of an ill-timed argument was mercifully stopped as a familiar gruff voice broke through the air. "Firs' years! Firs' years! This way! Follow me," the Keeper of Keys called out, shifting the majority of the attention from Harry and Malfoy to the calling giant, and gaining a large part of the student body. Without a group of students to give a scene to, Malfoy shot the three a spiteful yet prideful smirk before heading towards the carriages.

"C'mon, mate; let's just go," Ron ushered him out, taking note of his friend's discomfort. Harry just gave a stiff nod before walking briskly towards an empty carriage, trying to avoid the questioning glances and to blur the gossiping murmurs that seem to come faster than the rain was pouring.

Ah, the unwanted celebrity-like life of a teenager.

Anger and something akin to self-disgust coursed through Harry as he kept asking himself the same question even before Buffy came into the room. _Why was I so affected by the dementors? _He glanced through the windows with in a sullen mood. As far as he heard, no one had fainted like he did when those guards came near.

A sardonic chuckle suddenly made its way through his throught.

Somehow, Harry found dry (and really dry) humor amidst all of this. Sirius Black was out there, planning ways on killing him yet he didn't even so much as gasped at the thought, while here he was, flushing with embarrassment just because of a new found weakness against the dementors. Pride just became more important than life, apparently.

Life was so full of irony.

Yet when they arrived in that warm, stone halls that made up Hogwarts, all sense of self-humiliation left him. Out of the cold and muddy streets, Harry felt his mood increase dramatically and not even Filch's incessant protests of how muddy the floors were turning out dampened his spirit.

For what seemed like the hundredth time, Harry was more than happy to be here in Hogwarts when he took in the majestic sight of the castle. It was truly a pleasure to call it his home away from 'home'.

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**A/N: **Extra long chapter for the extra long wait. :D

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**Special Thanks To:**

_sparky24 _well, I admit that it would have been better to put what Buff said in the early season, but having missed that singular episode…I wouldn't have been able to even if I could.

_spike10101_ for the moment, I haven't been able to decide in any pairings, but it is most likely that this story would have none.

**And even more thanks to: **_lil-sis4556, Caz92, and zayra._

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_(unedited version)_


	11. School Goes On

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Harry Potter. All of the characters, settings, themes, books, show, titles, worlds, names, demons, witches, slayers, creation, references, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., and of course, J.K. Rowling. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Story is set 1 year after Season 7 and five days before Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. Just for possible future references, the story will be happening during Angel's Season 5.

**Author's Notes:** oh my goodness! An update! Whee! Am very glad to see people are still reading this, so a major thank you goes to all the reviewers!

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Chapter 11—School Goes On

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Before either of the three got the chance of remotely even coming close to the warm, toasty room correctly dubbed as the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall's strict and worried face appeared from a corridor and stopped them from stepping a foot further. "Potter, Granger, follow me."

They looked at each other, wondering what they've done so early in the school year to…okay so Ron and Harry didn't exactly enter with the rest of the crowd last year, but it wasn't their fault! For the most part…

"I'll save some of pumpkin pies for you both," Ron told them when Harry looked at him questioningly. He grinned weakly, still not over from his recent train experience and waved off before he and Hermione followed their professor to wherever she was leading them to.

Successfully isolating them from rest of the group, McGonagall only halted her brisk steps once they were in front of the infirmary, a sight Harry was well too accustomed to seeing. "In here, Potter. Madam Pomfrey just needs to check you over so no need for the long face. Granger, come with me," she pointed to an empty room, bringing the girl with her.

Blushing from the fact McGonagall already knew about the _incident_, Harry ducked towards the nurse's office and sat idly on a spare chair after realizing the nurse was nowhere in sight. He frowned slightly when he heard voices coming out of the Madam Pomfrey's office.

"…of course, Poppy, I'll try next time. Thanks for the goodies! Oh hello, Harry. Bye Harry," Professor Summers quirked, before closing the door with a click, a small brown bag following with a swish of her every movement.

Wondering what she would be carrying out of the infirmary (better yet, what Madam Pomfrey gave her), he failed to notice the nurse herself stopping in front of him, an eyebrow raised, "Already sent here, Potter? Must be a new record," she pursed her lips as she began checking him over—looking at his eyes, feeling his temperature—that sort of thing.

"It wasn't my fault—" he started, feeling the need to at least explain himself.

"Yes, yes, I know. Those blasted dementors are the cause of all of this. Seriously, I sometimes wonder what has gotten to Professor Dumbledore. Now eat this," she gave him a bigger chunk of chocolate than Lupin gave him.

"Professor Lupin already gave me some."

"Ah! Finally a professor who knows his remedies," Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, clearly thinking of Lockhart, "But in any case, finish it still. 'No one can have too much of chocolate' as Professor Summers once said. Now get before all the food is gone."

Harry mused over his thoughts as he walked out of the infirmary. First of all, what was Prof—Buffy doing here of all places? Shouldn't _she_ be down with the rest of the staff in the ceremony? What was she carrying in that bag of hers anyways and if chocolate was any indication, did Madam Pomfrey give her some of the remedy too? If that was the case…what for?

"There you are! Hurry up or we'll miss the sorting!" Hermione chided as they half-walked half-jogged towards the Great Hall.

Wait… "Hermione, what did Profe—?"

"Drats. We missed it. Oh? It's nothing important; we just discussed about my schedule this year," she off-handedly stated as they both took their seats next to Ron.

Ron looked at them questioningly once again and as Harry started to explain everything in a hushed whisper, Dumbledore's voiced took over the Hall with great exuberance despite of the unwanted prison guards lurking around the place. "Welcome, students—new and old! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! A few matters of importance must be discussed before our growing appetites are sated. I heard the roast duck was exceptional this year; from most reliable resources, I assure you."

Chuckles were heard throughout the Great Hall, yet everyone knew where this conversation was heading. Everyone _was _there when dementors met students for the first time in the train, weren't they? The quiet titters were almost like a nervous laugh before they heard the rest of the news. Eventually, the noise quieted down (with the help of Dumbledore's raised hands of course) enough for the headmaster to continue his yearly speech.

"This matter needs much more serious consideration than what to pick as a main course for tonight's meal, however. As all of you already know from the…different train ride, Hogwarts would be the unfortunate hosts to the dementors of Azkaban," his light tone had gone lowly serious. "Although I have high hopes that our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor would introduce these creatures as the school term progresses, I will take this opportunity to warn you and heed it you must.

"Dementors are nothing to be taken lightly of; in fact, any use of trickery against them would only endanger your position for they can see right through such forms of deceits. Including Invisibility Cloaks," Ron and Harry looked at each other, fighting off the tiniest signs that the statement was directed towards them. "Despite the fact none of these creatures can enter school grounds in any circumstance, they are however, stationed in every entrance to Hogwarts, thus having the need to gain permission for _everyone_ if leaving the campus was a necessity.

"Until further notice, each student should be in their respective dormitories at seven in the evening; no later and certainly not earlier. Troubles have indeed grown these past times, but like after every storm, sunlight will still break through the darkened skies and all will be well," then, that familiar twinkle in his eyes began shining again as his grave tone changed back to its cheery self.

"Upon other news, I am sad to announce that Professor Kettleburn had retired from his position as the Care of Magical Creatures Professor at the end of last year. Yet on a lighter note, I am pleased to say that that position is now filled with our very own Keeper of Keys, Professor Rubues Hagrid. While Defense Against the Dark Arts is occupied by Professor Remus Lupin and Physical Defense by Professor Buffy Summers!"

A loud applause welcomed the new teachers as catcalls and shrill whistles backed them up, obviously reserved for the female counterpart. Harry saw Buffy grin as she muttered something to Lupin who gave her an odd look before shaking his head exasperatedly. He grinned excitedly at the prospect of Hagrid teaching them this year; thank goodness, Care of Magical Creatures was mandatory for 3rd years else he would've quit that subject as soon as it was offered.

An eyebrow rose curiously as his oh-so-detested professor came into his view, sulking and positively glaring with such loathing that even he had only seen once or twice before. And that was saying something still. Although it was quite obvious that Snape was once again turned down from having his desired position, it didn't make sense that he was staring at the admittedly friendly DADA Professor with _that _much hatred. Surely there was more than just occupational envy between the two?

Harry nudged both Ron and Hermione and pointed as Snape just as the hooting around them began to calm down. Both was as surprised as he was, but couldn't comment on it as the headmaster unknowingly interrupted them again. "Yes well, I do hope that the enthusiasm everyone showed would still be present as the school term progresses and classes start. But until then, I will not trouble your yearning stomachs any longer, so dig in!"

On cue, the food appeared on every table, majestically as always. Goblets were filled to everyone's preferred drinks, without even saying a single word. Serving plates were piled high with unimaginable amount of mouth-watering food. And true to his word, the roast duck _was _exceptional this year…as was the bacon, the grilled chicken, the sautéed lamb, the chowder, and so on. Oh, and one mustn't forget about the desserts—crème brulee, various types of pies, custards, and yes, the ice cream. It was feast worthy of royalty.

Chatter filled the whole Hall, making everyone feel as if they were with their own family. Friends reacquainted themselves personally instead of mails, as they discussed about Quidditch teams, the newest gossips, and even how much work they were bound to receive by mid-term. Everyone was simply enjoying themselves for the last time before the work load piled up.

Yet in spite of the cheery atmosphere, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, stuffed themselves hurriedly; too excited about Hagrid's promotion to chat with each other like the rest of their schoolmates. As soon as they were over with this, the sooner they could congratulate their newly promoted friend on the staff table.

"Hurry it up Ron! Dumbledore would signal for the prefects soon if you don't finish now," Hermione huffed impatiently as Weasley increased…well, his speed of inhaling his food almost to the point that it was literal.

"Mmph—coming…o mwahn tha's gwood—ohay! Ohay! Jwust—mmph…wone mwast bhight," and indeed it was just one last bite; one last huge chunk of the grilled pig that is. Ron began chugging down a goblet of pumpkin juice, oblivious to the open-mouthed stares he receives from his fellow Gryffindors.

Neville chose to spoke up, still incredulous of his time-breaking speed, "Blimey, Ron…that was—"

"—Something we should _never_ had seen," Harry grinned good-naturedly, eyeing the specks of meat and mashed potatoes that missed Ron's mouth and the tiny stream of juice that was leaking at the corner of his chin.

Granger gave a snort of disgust and flicked her wand sympathetically, tidying up her friend's appearance just in time for him to finish his goblet. After mumbling his thanks, she simply retorted, "Belch in front of the staff and you will find yourself no one to proof-read your Potions papers, Ronald."

He grinned cheekily as they stood up, but nonetheless, Harry heard him burping discreetly at intervals as softly as possible. They neared the staff table and walked right over to Hagrid, who was smiling proudly at the sight of the three of them. "Congratulations, Hagrid! Why didn't you tell us the news earlier?" Hermione started.

"Wanted it to be a surprise, o' course! I couldn't believe when ol' Dumbledore 'imself came knocking at me door when Kettleburn's retiremen' news reached 'im. Still can't believe it. It's wha' I've always wanted to do!" then he broke out crying, leaving them with McGonagall's heated stare as she shooed them back to their seats.

The yearly kick-off the school year feast finally ended with Dumbledore's last good luck speech and his signal for the prefects to take the students a way. Everyone was whisked away towards their dormitories at a flurry of robes, moving stairs, and loud chatter. Harry soon found himself staring at the usual portrait of the Fat Lady with the rest of his mates, until he heard Percy shout out, "The new password is 'Fortuna Major'!"

As the boys and girls separated and entered climbed their respected stairs (it was a wonder Ron could still walk the amount of stairs they did with the amount of food he ate, really), sweet, sweet slumber wormed its way to everybody and soon, the rooms were filled with young students snoring their contentment away.

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As per usual, the trio arrived at the Great Hall, nearly fifteen minutes before the first classes start. If there was something Ron loved more than eating, it had to be sleeping. Excitement ran through nearly everybody, which was a peculiar sight since this…had never happened before. They sat right next to Fred and George who was grinning despite the early hour.

"What's got everyone in an uproar?" Ron questioned his brothers as he reached for oatmeal.

"Reckon they'll have the new Professor sometime today," Fred smirked as he handed Ron and Harry their schedules. "Guess you guys won't be having Professor Summers 'til Wednesday—tomorrow, then."

"Unlucky brutes," George piped up, then continued grinning. "Can't wait for PD—me and Fred will have ours right before lunch. Shame we couldn't have it sooner."

Hermione raised a brow, "You do realize you won't be just gawking at Buffy during class, right? You _would _be doing something."

"Oh ruin our fun, why don't you? And since when were you at first name basis with the Professor?"

"We met her at the train yesterday," Ron replied, happy to be acquainted with her before his brothers.

"Yeah? What was she like?"

As the Weasleys continued to chat on, Harry smirked when Hermione simply shook her head and muttered something like 'Weasleys' under her breath before he noticed something. "Hey Hermione, where's your schedule? I didn't see Fred an' George give it to you."

"Oh, McGonagall already gave me mine yesterday. I think we have the same classes together—I just have a couple more along the way. Anyways, I gotta go; need to pick up my books at the library. I'll meet you up at the tower—I think we have Divination first period," with that she left them as she grabbed a lonely apple off the table and went to the library.

Shrugging off Hermione's complete and utter dedication to her studies, Harry turned to the other three and joined in the conversation as a blueberry muffin muffled his voice. Their chat was interrupted however when a familiar Quidditch Captain came in, looking positively grim as if bringing bad news.

"Oi, don't forget: first practice is tomorrow after the last period—hey, I would have it done a tad later, George…or Fred, but with Black and all out there, McGonagall tightened up the practice sessions, so don't look at me like that, you three. Anyways, d'you guys mind telling Bell and Johnson 'bout the news?"

The three simultaneously declined, knowing how the two of them, if riled up to it (which was way too easy in some cases), had a nasty temper and would leave ears a-ringing and heads aching if they were the bearer of bad news, "Sorry, Wood," Harry smiled sympathetically, "you _are _the captain; just remind them not to kill the messenger. Heard that doesn't work necessarily, but hey—worth a shot." Fred and George sniggered as Harry added the last bit jokingly, but Wood didn't think so as he went off grumbling about his supportive teammates. Sooner than later, the breakfast session was over, and everyone had to go rushing to their classes if they hadn't done so before the clock rang the signal.

Ron and Harry began their trek to the North Tower, and it wasn't until their 3rd set of stairs that Hermione came panting with them, carrying a back-breaking amount of books. "Sorry. 'Fraid there was a hold-up in the check-out line. Apparently a fifth year tried to sneak out a book from the Restricted Area out of a dare," Hermione off-handedly stated as they climbed the ominous looking stairs.

After what felt like their fifth staircase, Ron suddenly panted, "Oh Merlin! Anymore and I think I'm gonna get myself a hernia!"

"Oh please," Hermione said, although she wasn't in any better shape that he was, "It's about time you lose that excess weight."

"I call that my 'holiday weight' thank you very much," he retorted back, although his ears were already turning pink.

Harry laughed out right at the pair, wondering how the two could still argue about the pettiest things even while hiking this much. But by George! This _was _a lot of stairs and even he (although not to brag) was in better shape than both of them; training with Oliver for Quidditch certainly increased his endurance over the past two years. "Ergh…maybe Hogwarts needs a pair of elevators," he grumbled under his shortened breath.

"En guard! Who dares trespass these sacred lands? Be it troll or be it thieves, show yourselves and prepare for a duel for I, Sir Cadogan, will defend this place—however dusty they are—if needed be!" a gangly knight in a painting brandished a rusty sword, swinging precariously at everyone, making several of its neighboring portraits flourish with an annoyed huff and run away.

"Hold on there, Sir Cadogan, sir," Seamus, their fellow friend, mockingly saluted, "we're just on our way to…uh…oh yeah! Divination at the North Tower. So ye can swing that sword of yers at someone else."

"Ah. Well why didn't you say so, my good men, and ladies?" Sir Cadogan bellowed, looking all but flustered as he sheathed his ancient sword. "Then with this noble deed, I shall help you with this quest. Follow me, my merry men, do not despair! The end of your road is there!" The knight then began popping from one painting to another, its grand spirit not losing a beat.

From beside him, Harry heard Jordan mutter, "Merry? I'll show him merry!" Hm…guess Ron wasn't the only one who was a tad sore at this tedious walk.

Yet true to his word, the Divination Room was just about a couple minutes of walking away, to which everyone gave a relieved sigh. "And with this, I must leave thee. If my assistance is ever needed I will be just a painting away! Good bye, good men. May the luck of the gods be with you!"

As the group entered the final and topmost landing (joining up with the others who went before them), they spotted nothing but a huge trapdoor on the ceiling, a sign saying 'Professor Sibyll Trelawney; Divination Classroom' attached to the brass handle used open it up. No sooner did the last student finish walking the last step (which was in this case, Neville Longbottom) did the trapdoor open by a thin and shawl-hidden arm in the other side.

"Come in young ones. Quietly, you must, else you disturb the Great Eye," a soft and almost gauzy voice came from above warned as a perilous set of ladders was cast down for the bravest (or stupidest) student to grab hold of and climb up. After a tense minute or two, a Ravenclaw took hold of it and began to climb, starting the line into the classroom.

When Harry entered the dark room, a wave of dizziness suddenly attacked him as the heavy scent of burning incense and the muggy and almost humid atmosphere of the room hit him. Fighting it off, he headed to an unoccupied set of table, waiting for his other friends to sit next to him. No sense of sleeping on the first class of the first day of term, he thought sleepily. In a daze, Harry began looking at what had got to be the queerest room in all of Hogwarts.

Instead of the usual beam-like structures that supported the mainframe of the castle's ceilings, curtains and unlit brass, chandeliers of every size hung in random coordinates. Darker than even Snape's dungeon, the class was literally just lit by the warm fireplace and the little streams of sunlight that managed to get through cracks at the boarded windows, giving the room a red glow. Cushions replaced wooden chairs, circular tables instead of rectangles—hff, no wonder it made him sleepy in the first place. It felt like a perfect place to take a nap—if it wasn't for that heavy waft of incense that came around the room every few moments anyways.

Finally, when everyone was settled, who Harry assumed to be the Divination professor came out of them many shadows and stood in front of the great fireplace that took the better part of the room. Thick, rimmed-glasses settled on the bridge of her nose, glittering against the light that came off the fireplace. Her thin frame was covered by layers upon layers of cloth which was topped off by a thick, black shawl. The messy hair on top of her head just made her look ever more an insect.

"Welcome, children," the same wonder-filled voice started, "just as I have foreseen, every single one of you had been chosen to be here—to learn one of the most difficult subjects in the magical field; but like I have also Seen, one of us would give up this tedious subject and fall away from the path."

Although the news wasn't drastic, Harry heard a collective murmur of surprise from the other students, whispering to their neighboring friends who it would be. He returned his attention to the front, again fighting off the huge urge to just roll over and sleep, "…am Professor Trelawney and will be your mentor and your guide to this path of Visions, Signs, and the Future. Yet I, as well as books, could only take you so far in this delicate subject—"

Ron and Harry had to grin at Hermione's comical open-mouthed horror as her dependability on books were now taken away from her in such a manner that to her, it was like telling that her now favorite pet—Crookshanks (of course)—had just died after complimenting its feline ways. 'Twas truly heartbreaking—to Hermione that is.

"—for the ability to see, to truly peer into the veils of the Future is not acquired but inherited. You boy!" Trelawney pointed a bony finger at Neville who was shaking with shock, "write your grandmother a letter; she may not be as well as you think." The teacher then proceeded to make predictions, from showing off her ability to do so or from just simple foretelling the future, Harry wasn't the wiser.

"Even though there are many more, and much harder ways of divulging into the Inner Eye, we will begin the term with simple tea reading and from then on, we shall go where the Eye takes us. Now, dear," she pointed at Lavender, "please hand out the china set to everyone—yes, over there. Oh, and there is no way to prevent what you fear the most from happening at the sixteenth of October. I'm terribly sorry, my dear."

After Brown's horrified gasp, Professor Trelawney started with the instructions, telling the students to bring out their books, _Unfogging the Future, _and with that, interpret what the leaves from the tea showed. Ron and Harry paired up, beginning their session of telling each other their leafy future.

"Erm…Ron, if you peer any closer to that cup…I'm afraid your nose would get stuck," Harry feigned great concern, receiving him a glare.

"Well if you got your 'Inner Eye' tested and stuff, why don't you give it a shot?"

"Okay…let me see your _grand_ future, shall we?" Harry started. What the heck? The smell was making him feel goofy too! "Anyways…hm, there's a cross…which according this book, means you'll suffer a tad bit—heh, sorry don't know from what. And that right there could look like the sun…so, you'll get something good out of it. Hah, brings a whole new meaning to no pain, no gain. You're turn."

"Alright then; well, other than the leaves here and there that I have no idea what to do with…I think that over there is a bowler hat…work for the Ministry or something? cos that reminds me the one Fudge has…Funny," he stated after turning it to the side and showing it to Harry, "see that over there? That kind of looks like a scythe and unless your planning to be a farmer, there's nothing in the book about a scythe."

Unbeknownst to them, his comment attracted Professor Trelawney's attention and it wasn't until she snatched his cup that they noticed her at all. "No, no, Mister Weasley, that's the falcon—grave dangers will come to you; an enemy of sorts."

To their side, Hermione muttered _when doesn't he ever_, but the teacher was too enraptured to even spare her a look. Trelawney had been muttering lowly, bringing the rest of the student's attention to the small table. The club—an attack. The skull—even more dangers. And then…a large gasp and Trelawney dropped the fragile tea set, "Dear, dear…I'm afraid…oh, how terrible! You have…the _Grim_," she whispered deadly, bringing a collective gasp from the rest of the class (except for a few). "The worst of all omens of death; it takes shape of a huge dog, roaming around innocent churches. Ahh…I'm afraid we'll have to end our lessons here. Yes, that will be best, until next time," then sending Harry the weepiest and most sympathetic eyes he saw before retreating back to the shadows.

With narrowed eyes, Hermione eyed the cup and pointedly said, "I don't see it. Really Harry, don't trouble yourself about it. Personally, I think it's a load of rubbish," she added when they exited through the trap door.

Harry gave her a weak grin, although he and Ron were surprised at her objectiveness of the Divination subject. Since everyone began looking at him as if he was about to just drop dead, his sleepy mood plummeted down—too fast to his taste really, for it gave him a sickly feeling; not to mention that he _did _see that ominous sign of a big, black dog.

T'was a really nice way to start off the day: say you're about to die soon and that would be like the morning coffee every American seem to need. It was absolutely F.A.N.T.A.S.T.I.C.

Great…so who was on his top five list of who wants him dead? Oh yes, there was Voldemort, Sirius Black, the omen of death…erm, Snape, and of course, Malfoy. The last one didn't really faze him as much as the first four but still that was one more. Merlin! And this was just the first day of school—no, the first _class. _This was even worst than usual! At least on the past two years he had time to enjoy before he had to save his troubled-butt from imminent danger. Life truly wasn't fair.

News apparently traveled fast in Hogwarts because no sooner had he reached McGonagall's room for Transfiguration, nearly everyone was sending him sympathetic or frightened looks, whispering when he thought he couldn't hear them, or simply avoiding the very direction he was heading or the path he walked. Others were 'unfortunate' enough to be in the same class as him—second period Transfiguration—and had to 'taint' themselves with his bad omen.

Needless to say, everyone was pretty quiet and not a comment was heard when McGonagall had transformed herself into an cat—by means of animagus apparently. Such action had thoroughly disgruntled the old professor who, upon previous times, had received a much warmer and louder welcome than this…depressed class she currently had.

"Oh honestly! I have never seen a class _this _depressed to go back to Hogwarts!" Lavender began retelling their first encounter with Professor Trelawney, making that grim line of a mouth on McGonagall's face even grimmer. "As much as I am _dearly _enjoying this mood of class I have now, I hate to break it to you, Potter, but Divination truly is one of the vaguest branch of magic out there; I am not denying that it is hard, but it is still quite imprecise. Not to mention, real Seers are incredibly hard to find and are rarely seen…making it even harder to believe that what most are foretelling are actually true predictions—things that _will _pass no matter what happens.

"In short, your recent subject is near to what muggles call 'smoke and mirrors' and your fabled predicament will not excuse you from any homework my class will demand. However, I will try to refrain from summoning your ghost and demanding your overdue essay should the event happen."

Even Harry had to laugh at that one. Smiling inwardly at her success, McGonagall proceeded with her class, grabbing the student's attention when she introduced the prospect of being able to change into an animal at will.

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With feet sore, her temper high, and mind painstakingly full, Buffy had declared herself officially knocked out. Who knew handling a bunch of rowdy teenagers was this much work? And if they did…why in the holy hells didn't they tell her? Seriously, for her mental and physical sake, this was just the second period!

Okay, so she had to handle Dawn on her own, but at least then, there were the Scoobies she could always count on. And it wasn't like she was actually talking about the syllabus for the household chores and had to stand on an elevated platform to establish her position.

Nope; all she had to do was threaten her at some point and expect that said sister was smart enough not to touch the pointy end of the weapons. But no…not with them. Hell, now she had to memorize names, act not quite as sisterly, and overall, be a _teacher_.

Although there was that nifty thing she could now—send overly rambunctious kids to detention. Oh yes, that would be her salvation to those arrogant boys that want to show off so soon in the beginning. Really, that was _one _incident she will try to forget.

_I really need to remember to lock that room first. _What good were the punching bags whose sole purpose was to _be _punched when they were suddenly charmed to do the opposite—hit the student hitting it?

She sighed heavily, but grinned when she realized she had a lunch break after, and since it was real common sense not to have a class after lunch (stomach related reasons, of course), she had another break after that. So overall, she had nearly two hours of 'Buffy' time, which she ideally chose to eat first (…again, did anybody tell her teaching was also very energy draining?), then a short break, and then go for a run after that to clear her mind.

God knows she needs that.

A lot.

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Walking towards that familiar hut, the trio's mood lightened up from their argumentative lunch and started walking faster. Harry thought that the meal would've at least calm down everyone's nerves, including his…but, this just further proved that he was nowhere near being a Seer. As they approached Hagrid's 'classroom', his anxiety finally calmed down, and a happy, albeit tired, grin formed on his face.

Yet his mood plummeted down for what seemed like the tenth time that day when the sight of the most despised Slytherin group sauntered with a sneer towards the class. Along with them came the rest of the class, chattering happily, oblivious to the impending danger that would most likely happen. Just when he was about to complain to his best friends, Hagrid decided to show up and begin the classes.

At the corner of his vision, Harry swore Malfoy and his gang sneer even harder at Hagrid's authority and couldn't help but cringe.

Oh, dear. Something in the air spells trouble.

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Feet pounded hard on the leaf-covered path. Breath came up short as her straining muscles screamed for oxygen. Heart pumped quickly to supply the increased circulation of blood within her body. Sweat began trickling her brow yet these uncomfortable side effects of running nonstop were the only things that she focused on.

Thinking about something else, which what most people would've done, was the very object that she was trying to avoid. As caveman-speak would say it: thinking bad. Thoughts about teaching had enveloped her thoughts for a while and she needed an escape. Running seemed to do just that.

Hence, her intent focus on how her body was reacting to her constant pushing.

A lazy grin formed on Buffy's face as she decided to push her limits even farther, attempting to surround herself with the loud pumping of her blood, the scent of the foliage, the blurred scenery, the salty taste of sweat passing her mouth, and the straining muscles.

_Thump. _

_Thump. _

_Thump. Thump. Thump. _

_Thump._

_Thump…Thump._

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!"

**->**

**A/N: **uh…hehe. School came in rather unexpectedly. Chapter was supposed to reach up to twenty pages…but I decided to cut to here for the sake of an update. Happy early holidays! Btw, really am glad for the review responses from the last chapter. It really made my…month to see that people haven't abandoned this thing.

**Special Thanks To: **

_Lady Saffron of the Daggers_- hahha. Being hyper is a v. good thing when done regularly! Hm…Buffy's class hasn't really started for the trio, but hopefully you can hang in there for the next installment because I'll definitely put it on there.

_Marz1_- uh…not really sure about the grim hunting, but alls I can tell now is that there would be more dementor encounters on the road for buffster. Its really hard to keep the good ol' Buff around, especially since the show has canceled and I'm not really tuning in to the replays (life has made sure of that), but I'm really glad that I AM keeping her in her roots. Just be sure to shout when I'm nearing the OOC zone.

_Masau_- golly gee, thanks! I haven't been exactly reading many fanfictions out there for quite sometime, but I have some pretty excellent HP crossovers that I could give the links to if you are interested. I know, my update rate, unlike other, is not really written in stone, so predicting when I'll be updating is basically similar to attempting to win the lottery.

_OfficiallyObsessedwithPyro_- well hey, you never know what I might put in here for the future (wink). Anyways, I do hope you still stick around even without the wanted shipper.

_Sparky24_- oh you wouldn't believe how many the times I've edited that whole section just to make it as it is, and I am very much proud of how it turned out; and it sounds like it did quite well. Since reading HP crossover fics, I've noticed that most of the Buffy professors were introduced in the Great Hall, so I decided, why not twist it a bit?

_Toniboo_- greaaat! Now you have another chapter to read! I'm really pleased that you were interested enough to finish this all in one goal, so that put a smile to my face. Like I've said many a times before, I'm really not planning to post up a shipper, but who knows? Maybe in the series?

**And even more thanks to: **_Caz92, Moony, Mione & Padfoot, Flying Philosopher, and Katsheswims._

**->**

_(unedited version) _


	12. Of PD and A Large Dog

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Harry Potter. All of the characters, settings, themes, books, show, titles, worlds, names, demons, witches, slayers, creation, references, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., and of course, J.K. Rowling. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Story is set 1 year after Season 7 and five days before Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. Just for possible future references, the story will be happening during Angel's Season 5.

**Author's Notes:** As would have it, review responses are now individualized so…yah. Thanks for the reviews still! Btw, this chapter has the return of a certain fugitive…it would be too rhetorical a question to ask 'guess who?'

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Chapter 12—Of PD and A Large Dog

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Buffy screeched into a halt when she heard the terrified scream and sprinted in what seemed like a second to the source. Over there, just behind the thicket, was Hagrid's class along with what looked like a mutated horse. Instead of the usual horse's upper-half, it was replaced by a raptor, magnified by twenty with large agitated wings flapping around and about.

Man. Talk about something weird.

Even in all of her Slayer years, Buffy was still startled to see such a creature as that.

But…wait. Who was that over there! Her eyes widened when she caught sight of Malfoy from the train, and rushed over, not even bothering to apologize to the students she just bumped into. Heck, she didn't even hear the startled yelps of said students and the half-whispers about her that spread like wild fire. No, there were more important stuff to attend to.

Hagrid, white-faced but grim, was already trying to calm down irritated creature, but the wailing screams and shocked murmurs from the crowd weren't helping. This was a classic example of how civilians simply just got in the way, Buffy thought to herself.

"Calm down guys," she then yelled, bringing their attention to her. Hagrid turned to her for a second and she caught sight of the fear and anxiety he was trying to conceal before facing the horse/bird again.

"Shh…Buckbeak, calm down you rascal," he grunted before finally throwing a ferret-sized meat to the other side of the clearing. 'Buckbeak' followed it, changing its attention from the injured student to a more desirable one. Buffy jogged over to Hagrid, slightly worried at the weird vibe she was still getting from the creature.

"Get him to the Infirmary, Hagrid. I'll take care of your class," she muttered to him, before sending him a sympathetic glance and a nod to get going. Although he might be a touch sore about his first class being ruined so quickly, the fellow teacher didn't have to be told twice before he scooped up Malfoy and hurried to the direction of the castle.

"Okay, so who knows how to take care of this bad boy?" Buffy asked, knowing that this creature, whatever this was, couldn't be left flapping about. Especially when he had a look that screamed 'danger!'

"It's a hippogriff professor," Hermione called out, still shaken from the recent event but willing to help. "Walk up to about 10 feet away from it, bow low while maintaining eye-contact, and wait until it bows to you as well then you can go nearer."

Although wary at the odd instructions, Buffy did as she was told, trusting on a 13 year-old's information. Oh dear. "Alright…."

One, two, three, four…

Bow low…lower. Don't blink…

Wait…

…_wait_…

Buckbeak looked at her with curious scrutiny, his molten yellow eyes flashing when it caught the sun's rays. It cocked its head, this way and that, as if trying to read her intentions. And holy crap those claws are huge…Suddenly, it threw back its head and erupted a guttural cry while agitatedly stomping its feet/claws on the ground, but it made no move to attack Buffy.

The class gave a startled yell at its unexpected move, unconsciously moving back a step away from the creature. Ron gulped nervously as he started at the professor at such a vulnerable position.

Yet, all through this, the professor maintained her stance, almost getting lost in those fierce eyes. Not even Buckbeak's cry made her flinch or even did she give a start when the class yelped simultaneously; this must have been the sign he was looking for since the hippogriff kneeled down to the ground after looking at Buffy for a moment or two longer.

A collective sigh resounded from the class before whoots of clapping and cheering followed forth. Buffy too, was relieved at Buckbeak's permission to come closer, and started walking closer to the hippogriff. "You all know where your classes are, I hope?" she threw over her shoulder.

Everyone got her meaning and started walking back to the castle, chatting amongst themselves at the sudden turn of events. "Oh, and Hermione, 10 points goes to Gryffindor. I would probably been sliced and diced if it wasn't for that tip," Professor Summers grinned before leading the winged horse to Hagrid's hut.

When well out of earshot, Ron finally released the breath he was holding and gasped, "Blimey! That was…"

"Crazy?"

"…I was gonna say incredible, but yah, that works," Ron concluded after Harry.

"Really? I would go for odd," Hermione frowned. At their looks, she added, "Well don't you think it was a little bit off at how fast she came here? And not to mention Buckbeak's behavior when she was asking his permission to come closer."

"'Mione, its not exactly any one of us are experts of hippogriffs and besides, she might have just been in the neighborhood," Harry defended.

"Yeah," Ron added, "what so odd about that?"

"But it didn't have the same reaction as it did to you, did it?"

Ron and Harry looked at each other, unable to answer that question.

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The rest of the day went off without another hitch, although the Slytherins were making as much of a big deal as they can about Malfoy's injury. Passing by the infirmary, the Trio heard Malfoy's over exaggerated cries of pain before Madam Pomfrey testily telling him that it was more of a flesh wound than anything else and it had already been taken care of.

Needless to say, it brought a few snickers to the three of them.

News about Professor Summers's interference during the Care of Magical Creatures were almost as well known as _her_ class. Many of those who had her couldn't stop boasting their capabilities of having an easy A in PD despite of the professor's warning about its levels of difficulty. Others were still sore about the jinxed 'punching bags' who began hitting them instead of the opposite.

Those who didn't have her on the first day, were either listening about her fascinating tales or spreading them; with or without the actual facts. This rumor mill was inevitable to reach Buffy's ears themselves, and she nearly choked on her water when the latest news was apparently…well, her.

Along with some really, really, interesting tidbits about her origins.

"So, did you really train in the Transylvanian forests?" a particularly cheery Lupin asked her when he settled down for dinner.

An annoyed glare was shot towards his direction, "Don't even start. News is, I'm apparently growing a fan club! Ugh, fan clubs are for celebrities, Lupin. Do I have a big billboard stamped up somewhere or something? Seriously, what is the hubbub all about? Its just me!"

"You…the one who gallivanted around the train brandishing a torch and attacking a dementor and successfully making it run away in the train, you mean? The one who, quick as a whip, appeared out of nowhere when Mr. Malfoy was injured during Care of Magical Creatures? It's just been two days Buffy, and the kids have nothing else to talk about except the new," Lupin shrugged as he served himself some food.

"I was just running through the woods…" she whined childishly as she poked her peas. "God, I just wished they would stop staring. I'm trying to eat!" Lupin laughed loudly before forcing it into a cough when the Slayer held up her fork threateningly. "Maybe I'll just take this upstairs. I need to catch up on some stuff before I get to sleep, anyways. Later, Rem."

"Have fun! The house-elves will probably bring you something to eat," Lupin advised her who just shot him a scowl but muttering her thanks anyways.

Walking as swift as she could to avoid any students, she was unaware of a lone figure standing just behind the Great Hall doors waiting for her. She almost went past him when he called out her name if it wasn't for his near-platinum blonde hair that was almost impossible to miss.

"Oh, hey Draco…do you mind if I call you with your first name by the way? It's just really weird calling kids by their last name. Really. What is up with that?" Buffy began conversationally, although her speedy steps didn't skip a beat.

Taken aback by her talkative manner, Malfoy almost tripped but managed to keep his feet the same pace as hers; but he still struggled. "Uh…I'm really not sure, Professor, but it would be a pleasure to call me whatever you want." Gagging internally, Draco became disgusted at his remark.

_A pleasure to call me whatever you want? What. The. Hell?_ Shaking his head, he returned his attention to the short professor who finally stopped in front of a painting, which he assumed to be hers, after the several twists and turnes he took. He locked the information in his head, saving it for later use.

"Okay, Draco," slightly annoyed that she wasn't able to shake him off her trail, "oh yeah, how's your arm?" Buffy finally putting her attention to the student.

Putting on a 'brave' face, Draco gave a sad smile and said, "I still get a twitch or two of pain here and there, but its getting better I suppose. Father will be furious when news about this comes to him. That oaf will get what's coming to him."

Slightly surprised by how he sounded, Buffy could do no more than but say, something passively. "Oh. Uhm…I'm really sorry Draco but I have some stuff that needs some attending to. You know, teacher stuff. See you sometime this week, okay?"

"Yes, Professor. Goodnight," taking the hint, he turned around and left, making a disgusted face at his failed attempts at the conversation.

Cocking her head slightly, she shook her head at the kid's somewhat arrogant attitude and muttered her password to Lady Lyra. Entering her room, she sighed thankfully at the warm meal that greeted her, minus that unwanted audience.

She grabbed the borrowed binder from the library that she had neglected to return (which consequently got her some notices from the librarian) and looked over that article she had read over and over already; her only written lead on Sirius Black.

Damn. If only she had a CSI team on this case…

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Several excited murmurs ran amongst the anxious crowd as they neared upon their newest subject: Physical Defense. Yesterday students, mostly of the male student body, brought eye-raising gossips at Professor Buffy's somewhat scanty attire. Others scorned her Yankee roots and made fun of her odd verbage.

But nonetheless, everyone wanted to see her (although for various reasons) for themselves and judge her that way. Besides, news of the jinxed 'punching-bags' were fast becoming old and many of those who run the insider news want the new juices.

Even Harry, Ron, and Hermione (who knew the professor a bit more than the others around them) couldn't wait for the class. Scurrying to a new corridor they (surprisingly) haven't passed in Hogwarts, they skidded to a stop when they read a notice hammered to the door that opened to the PD room:

-

_Boys to the door to your left, girls to the right._

_Please change into the proper uniform before entering_

_the gym and leave your wands in your lockers._

_You only have five minutes to do so before you are_

_considered tardy._

_-Professor Summers_

_P.S Try and enter the wrong doors and _

_you'll have detention washing everyone's_

_uniform the muggle way. Oh, and wear your _

_sweats._

-

Well. That was certainly interesting. No one ever mentioned changing to the uniforms yesterday. Giving a puzzled frown to each other, they entered the door that held the instructions. And there it was. Those two sets of doors to their left and right. Ron and Harry gave a slight wave to Hermione who proceeded to enter the rightful door.

Several aisles of tall, skinny lockers greeted their sight when Ron and Harry went inside. Nervous chattering from the other male students who began changing their clothes was heard simply from everywhere. This subject was new and no one knew how to act; except of course, those who were of muggle roots and/or knew how this went. Anyone could easily spot them in this anxious crowd. They were the once who were standing a bit cockily beside their lockers, dressed up and all ready to go.

Speaking of said lockers, each one had their names on it, grouped by their houses then their years. Finally reaching the right ones, Harry waved a greeting to Seamus and the others who were also twittering nervously. "The locks will only open by voice. Just say your name and it'll open by itself. Safety-slash-privacy concerns apparently," Finnigan tipped them with a shrug.

"Thanks," Ron and Harry muttered before saying their names towards their locker. The door swung open to reveal a very spacious locker—almost a closet. And just to the side, they saw their change of uniforms. Without further ado, the duo began to change like the rest of their mates.

…

"Well. This…is…new," Ron struggled to say as he looked around the 'gym' when they met up with Hermione. It was nearly as large as the Great Hall sans the magical ceiling. Everything looked…out of place considering that quaint old feel everyone felt at Hogwarts was…to put it into a word, erased, when they entered this room.

Polished wooden floors replaced the stone-cobbled ones outside. Brand-spanking new mirrors filled the entire west wall of the room, making the room appear larger even more. Several locked cabinets were up against the opposite wall and not one had to squint to realize that they were the sharp-pointedly weapons that can slice and dice and probably mince someone. Next to it was a stack of 6-foot long sticks and looked as sturdy as bamboos.

The numerous windows allowed much light to get in the room, and Harry had got to admit that this was probably the best lit classroom out of all of Hogwarts. And it certainly compared greatly to a muggle gymnasium. Weird.

"Okay kiddies, settle down," a loud voice chirped over them. Everyone turned to the new Professor who was sporting a pair of sweats herself, hair tied up to a messy bun. Needless to say, it brought several jaws down as no one has ever seen a professor wear anything near 'street clothes'. "Just…find a spot on the floor together so I can take roll."

A loud scuttle of squeaky shoes running across towards the middle just in front of the blonde teacher erupted until Professor Summers gave a loud and somewhat annoyed cough before proceeding to call out their names.

Several minutes and a deafening silence later…

"…ookay. Now that that's done, we'll just skim through the rules for the year before I explain what the change of uniforms are for," Buffy stated as she placed her clipboard to the ground and started walking around, watching them like a military personnel would.

"First off. Not under in any circumstances, whatsoever, will _any_ of you, try to unlock those cabinets and even think about using them as a prank. Doing so will result in immediate expulsion from this class and a long time suspension from Hogwarts. These are not playthings that you can swing out until someone pokes an eye out; they can break bones, create internal bleeding, cut and bruise you, and can give something worse than a lost eye.

"Secondly. Trying to cheat in this class will receive detention and believe you me, I have more than one way to find out if you are," a wicked gleam flickered in her eye, causing the students to look at each other uneasily, "And finally, uniforms are for you to get unstinkified after the daily work out. B.O. is just…ew."

Everyone chuckled at the face she pulled before she hushed them back again. "Other than following what I say and trying not to break anything other than yourselves, we're here to defend ourselves without any means of magic—hence the no cheating policy. We'll cover the basics first this sem—preparing your bodies so that you can do extensive workout with the simplest exercises.

"And this brings us the topic for today's attire. You've probably heard different stories from yesterday, but I'm really up for a run around the castle grounds. So if you'd follow me," Buffy instructed as she led the across the room and out a door that led outside. A clear pathway that led to the woods and probably winded in an out of it met the group of youngsters.

"We're not going in there," a Slytherin girl snobbishly pointed out. "It's going through the Forbidden Forest and if _you_ haven't heard, Black is at the loose as well as all the other creatures that live there." Much to Harry's and the rest's chagrin, several murmurs of agreement backed up her argument.

"Then I guess _you_ haven't heard of magical charms then, eh?" Professor Summers raised a cool brow, before saying to the rest, "This will be the only time I'll be running with you so try to familiarize yourselves as much as you can. We'll be running in three minutes; use this time to stretch out your muscles."

Awkwardly, the class began doing their own stretches, mimicking each other while muttering how stupid they must look. Professor Summers, surprised at their lack of knowledge of simple stretches, called Hermione and another Hufflepuff girl over.

"Okay kids, watch Ms. Granger and Ms. McLeary here. The two of you sit down and face each other; now open your legs in front of you as wide as you can…a little bit more…right, and connect them to your partners. Grab each others hand and then pull gently…_gently_, Bonnie…as far as the other can take it, hold for five seconds, then the other partner pulls.

"Do this for about a minute then shake your legs for a bit when you stand up. You'll feel some stretching at the back of your knees which is a good sign you're actually doing it right. Sooner or later, you'll be stretched far enough for your nose to actually touch the ground, but…I really doubt that in this case. Now go partner yourselves up or whatever."

Now more organized, several grunts of pain and a few 'oh Merlin! You pulled something' or 'I ain't that flexible, dammit!' came from the students, and Harry could see that Professor Summers bit back a grin while at the same time tried to stop herself from smacking her head at their sight.

"OUCH, watch it Ron."

"Sorry, mate. I just feel…silly doing this, ya know?" he apologized when he yanked Harry's arms a bit too harshly. But Harry could tell he was a bit distracted with the sight around him—girls grunting and stretching…farther than the guys could.

Giving him a glare, Harry smacked him at the head before yanking his arms hard too. "You didn't have to do that, you git," Ron scowled before grinning at him.

"Alright guys and gals. The whole track is about a mile and a half so be ready," Professor Summers took up the lead to a comfortable pace, signaling every one to join her.

Bit by bit, she increased her pace, bringing the students from a nice jog, to a regular run, then almost a sprint near the end. The more athletically built managed to keep up with her, but only slightly and painfully so. Those who prefer sitting around than doing something physical lagged behind, but no one dared to be the first one to stop and rest; either from embarrassment or pride, none could tell.

A stinging prickle began in Harry's chest while his throat became drier and drier as each passing breath came in and out. His legs began to ache and felt like it turned into jelly while his right side throbbed painfully…but he could tell he was a bit better off than some. Ron was wheezing in and out as he struggled to keep up with the brisk pace. Hermione to his left was pale on the face, but managed to keep her breathing softer than most.

Who the hell knew running could be this much pain?

But oh dear god, an opening in front of them showed the castle and more importantly, the end of the track. _Hallelujah_! A quirky shout up front, coming from the Professor, came and shattered that thought, "From this on, I want everyone to sprint as fast as you can. First one to come behind me gets 30 points for their house. Ready. Set. Go!" And faster she went with inexhaustible amounts of energy coming off her.

"Bloody…hell," Ron whined/wheezed before he too, like the rest, put everything they got in the last 150 yards or so.

But none managed to keep up as well as that one kid from Hufflepuff and even then, it was about a minute or so until he reached the finished line, where the professor was grinning at everyone. One by one, everyone reached the end and plopped unceremoniously to the ground, wheezing and gasping for much needed air.

Harry bent over Ron who was coughing up mumbled phrases as he laid on the ground while Hermione kept walking around, her arms over her head as she breathed deeply through her nose. "It's better if you stand up, you know. And keep your arms up," she instructed both of them.

Ron tried getting up. He really did! But his jelly legs gave way to his weight and Ron just scowled to Hermione, "I like the ground, thanks."

"Great job everyone. 30 Points to Henry of Hufflepuff," several tired 'whoot's and 'yeah's came from the Hufflepuff class but the rest was just simply too fatigued. Harry looked up to see Buffy as cheery as ever, not a drop of sweat on her. It was as if the whole thing was nothing to her and she was sprinting like a maniac on fire!

That.

Was.

Crazy.

"Well, you better get back in and change before you miss lunch." Groaning at the fact they simply had to get moving again, everyone picked themselves up and headed back inside to change, some buckling suddenly when their knees couldn't support their weight. But everyone managed to get inside.

Eventually.

…

"So? How was it?" Fred…or George asked when they sat down like a sack of potatoes on the benches, groaning as their muscles ached.

"Like my legs have been turned into gelatin," Ron muttered darkly before helping himself pathetically to a glass of water. "Ah…That was heaven. Now somebody please kill me."

"What? What happened?" a bunch of other students began crowding in amongst those who just had PD, very much interested in what they had to say.

"Professor Summers just made the whole class run the track. Forced us to sprint like a devil she did," Seamus grunted next to them, wiping his still sweaty brow with the palm of his hand.

"And the weirdest thing is, she hasn't broken a sweat!" another student exclaimed.

"I felt I was gonna die there," Harry concurred after them, still feeling the side-effects of the run. "How 'bout you Hermione?…Hermione?"

She was nowhere to be found. "Funny. I just saw her there awhile ago," Ron whispered to him when Harry pointed it out. "She just prolly went to the 'loo."

"Yeah…I guess."

"Well if you guys are done being sissies…" George grinned at them even as he received death glares from the lower classmen.

"…The new DADA professor is extra wicked this year, we'll have you know," Fred finished after him, sporting the same grin, "totally unlike Lockhart, thank Merlin."

"Good. I don't think I could stand another year chasing Cornish pixies or blocking out his fan club."

-

---

-

Nightfall finally came, and needless to say, Buffy couldn't have been any happier. It's been too long since she patrolled the grounds…okay, so about five days, but then again, when has she ever been patient?

Two weeks of school had already passed by and she barely had any time to do patrol stuff anymore. Either she was already too preoccupied with trying to fight off that headache from trying to make her class 'fun' and 'interesting' while having to do the boring stuff of basics and trying to put everyone on the same level as everybody else.

Not to mention that some of the kids were getting a bit feisty as they itched for the more advanced stuff to happen. So not good. She (especially she) knew how kids could get when they want to do something bad enough.

But another dilemma faced her right now; one that was facing her weaponry cabinet and brought a deep frown on her face:

To bring that new sword she's been itching to use or not?

After all, weaponry has never really been needed in this particular neck of the woods…but, argh! It's just too…shiny! Finally, with a very dejected sigh, Buffy decided against it, figuring that any of the patrolling Prefects or late-night students will catch sight of it and will just add it to the rising rumors about her. And with a click, she closed her cabinet.

"It's just me and you again, Mr. Pointy," she murmured as she flipped the stake and hid it inside her leather jacket. Smirking inside, Buffy pocketed a small dagger in her black boots, and for once, just hoped to have something a bit more dangerous to happen tonight.

Buffy groaned.

Any other people will hope for a peaceful night with that warm fireplace in front of her…but she just wasn't one of them. For some reason, she just needed that little taste of adrenaline she's been pitifully getting from running in circles around the track.

Maybe solving that huge spider mutation wouldn't be such a bad idea?

…

The crisp night air brought some calm in her frazzled nerves. Buffy was on solo tonight, her werewolf buddy apparently have some class planning to do and sends his regrets. Yeah. Right. The grin that sported his face when she told him of her need to spar something (ANYTHING) was apparently amusing.

Humming a merry tune under her breath, she failed to see a surprised pair of eyes peering through one of the windows up in the castle. Instead, her focus zeroed in the thick foliage she was about to enter and allowed her senses to spread throughout her surroundings.

As she went deeper and deeper into the forest, her hearing senses sharpened, picking up the rustle of leaves and the occasional snapping of branches that reminded her that she wasn't alone. But that creature was merely passing by and had no intention of coming across a Slayer with an itch.

Buffy had long ago learned to tuned these useless sounds out and instead focused more on the ones she shouldn't hear. Her eyes became accustomed to darkness and where most people would be smacking their heads for the lack of lamps (for even a simple '_lumos'_ couldn't conquer the darkness that simply emanated from the Forbidden Forest), Buffy rather liked it.

For one, it gave her some camouflage, making the stalking of prey easier…if there was some prey to stalk. And second, it gave her the chance to exercise her heightened sight as well. Past experiences had drilled that to her young mind: practice is part of survival as well.

But even the practiced skill of scanning out the area while keeping a constant watch at all times, even the Slayer can still be taken by surprise at her own game…including that especially large dog that just jumped out of nowhere and barring his pearly whites with a snarl.

Oh, Shit.

Buffy yelped. Big time.

When her heart managed to calm down a bit, she held up her hand in mock surrender, trying to put the agitated dog at ease, "Easy boy. I'm not gonna hurt you…I'm more afraid of you jumping at my throat actually," and for some reason…just saying 'Nope, never mind…I'm the slayer so I can actually beat up into a pulp before you bark 'rabbis'' just didn't quite fit.

As if comprehending what she said, the dog quieted his snarls, although Buffy could still see some of its hairs standing up. She took this time to look at the canine fully. Buffy couldn't quite tell exactly how large it was because of its dark fur and the dark surroundings, but she had a pretty good estimate that it was huge. Yellow, doggy eyes bore on her as if calculating what her intentions were while erect ears stood proudly as he…or she, undoubtedly heard noise almost better than she.

But she really have no idea on what to do next. Although she didn't particularly dislike dogs, she didn't know how to act when she was around one; Buffy just never had one to begin with when she was a kid. Mom was too fond of her artsy statues and plates and Dad became engrossed with 'business trips' to even properly take care of her, much less show responsibility for a dog.

"Well…unless you're gonna turn into Dracula, I'm gonna go now, pooch." It cocked its head at her voice but followed her nonetheless, keeping that stiff posture about it. "…Alrighty then. I guess your coming with me…"

And yet, the dog never came up right next to her, but rather stayed behind. Buffy of course, heard his every step and pant and felt his presence but there's something almost…off about it and she couldn't tell what it was exactly. Maybe it was her fried nerves or she must be feeling things, but he/she didn't exactly feel very dogish if that was even possible.

Hours later, it was already pushing to midnight and Buffy had to give up her search for something 'fun' once more. Reaching the end of the forest, she turned to her newly found companion…only to see that he was gone.

Without her even noticing it.

She couldn't have been delusional, there were some paw prints from where he walked behind her and the tracks simply turned around into the forest once more.

"Fine then, pooch," she muttered before she too went her separate way.

-

---

-

He paced back and forth across the hidden foliage. That was the first time he had come in contact with a wizard without running away from him (or in this case, her) and it confused him a great deal. Certainly, this was one of the new teachers…probably taught that new subject. Some form of martial arts or other.

Sirius scoffed. That petite girl…fighting one on one with a wizard without magic? Please…It would be like battling with a fly with a door. Not to say that she looked anything quite like a fly, quite the contrary in fact.

…But in any case, why would anyone, professor or not, willingly travel in the Forbidden Forest alone and unprotected? It was simply suicidal unless you're strong enough without a wand…okay. Simply preposterous. Which was exactly why he was gravely suspicious of this new character and jumped at her in his first chance.

She was startled of course, but not in the sense of being frightened. That girl even went as far as calling him 'pooch'! He? A _pooch_? Remus would never live it down once he caught wind of it.

Speaking of which, he longed to see one of his best friends and finally tell him the truth. Certainly, Remus would realize that he couldn't have spilled the _secret_ to that wretched wizard. James was like a brother to him! How could he ever do such a thing to that Potter and what was _he _to gain from that betrayal?

There's a traitor in the midst and even though he was definitely sure Wormtail resided inside the castle walls, he still needs to be wary with other unknown characters; including that new professor. Yes, she needs to be watched. Something definitely did not add up about her…unless Dumbledore has something up in his sleeves and past experiences (usually from his teenage years but more so during the war) had taught him to be wary of Dumbledore when he has something planned.

Black finally settled down under one of the bigger trees. Enough thinking for tonight…he was tired and hungry and under the circumstances, thinking will tire him even more. Picking up a lone berry, he turned it over and examined it before concluding that it was edible and wouldn't poison him. But then again…he was almost ready to eat _anything_ so he popped it into his mouth with reckless care before spitting it back out with a disgusted noise.

"Bloody fruit," he growled with annoyance before spiting for the last time.

_Almost_ ready, that is.

-

---

-

It's nearing the end of October and ever since the appearance of that dog, a more consistent trips to the Forbidden Forest was simply a must. And every time those trips occur, the dog will just pop out of nowhere and stay with her until it was time for her to leave. Strangely enough, the dog seemed to have a sixth sense of when she was leaving but it never came close enough for Buffy to pat it.

Even when she was trying to bribe it with some food, its determination to stay a meter or two away from her was kept. Which was greatly surprising since the mutt was mostly made up of skin and bones and even she would salivate at the yummy smells those darn foods were making.

Ah well. _Miracles do happen_, Buffy thought optimistically as she swung another bag of goodies for the pooch. And speak of the devil, there he was, waiting for her, as if to say 'what are you waiting for? Lets just get this done and be over with it' before it turned away with a whine.

Yes… "So. Caught a whiff of some turkey, pooch?"

He snarled and Buffy chuckled. Although she knew perfectly well why he snarled at her, she couldn't help but feign innocence. "Oh, come now pooch, I made sure its dead before I brought it here." If it was even possible, the nameless stray scoffed before barking at her.

Buffy frowned as she looked at him, "You know you really have to eat. You're a sack of fur and bones, pooch…I guess being a stray does that to you. But in any case, I'm the bearer of the bacon so just eat the turkey already!" she waved the paper back, fully annoyed at the dog's lack of compliance.

The said canine merely gave another snort, before turning around and walking towards a path that lead deeper into the Forbidden Forest. He gave a short bark to the Slayer and she clearly got the gist of it. "Peh. Fine, have it your way, mutt. Just don't come whining back to me when you get hungry."

It gave a sound as if to ridicule that very thought.

"Whatever, pooch."

It snarled with annoyance, but otherwise just followed her lead when she caught up to him.

Yup…it's just another day in the job. Hopefully it's more interesting than the last, Buffy prayed.

**->**

**A/N:** So it's about 4 pages shorter than I thought it would, but…that's okay. I'm planning to end this story in around chapter 20 or so so I can finally move into the sequel (?) Anyways, Happy Holidays, everybody!

**->**

_(unedited version)_


	13. Conclusions

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Harry Potter. All of the characters, settings, themes, books, show, titles, worlds, names, demons, witches, slayers, creation, references, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., and of course, J.K. Rowling. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Story is set 1 year after Season 7 and five days before Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. Just for possible future references, the story will be happening during Angel's Season 5.

**Author's Notes: **This'll be something short and sweet just to develop some essence between the characters.

-

Chapter 13—Conclusions

-

Professor Snape was having a marvelous day.

Yes indeed. Five Gryffindors sent to detention; nearly 80 points taken off from his rivaling house; and they just might win the Cup this year. Thank Merlin for that! _I swear if I have to stand McGonagall's smug face I'll—_

"Faster Wood, faster!"

…Wait, what?

"I'm getting tired, Professor. And my legs are starting to burn!"

_Thump, thump._

"What did you expect, kid? Gotta…give it to you though. You've got great stamina. It'll get you places," Snape heard the feminine voice respond again. Hold on…was that Professor—

"Thanks Professor Summers," _thump, thump, thump _"Still can't believe…you're doing this with me."

It took a moment for the professor to respond, but when she did, it came out more as pant, "I'd do this for everyone, Wood. Change your angle a little bit. It gets better when you go a little higher…there that's it."

Several harder and faster _thump_s were heard after that, and he swore that he could hear the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain pant even harder.

By this time, Snape was nearly frozen outside the door, unable to tear himself from the ongoing conversation.

"That better, Professor…Summers?" again, her name came out more as a gasp…as if he's not having enough air.

What the hell was going on in there?

"Mm…much. Just call me Buffy when we're doing this, by the way."

"Only if you start calling me by my first name, " that dratted boy said almost suggestively. Snape started to get flustered by this…most inappropriate conduct. Summers would get fired for this! Yes. This day couldn't get any better!

"Go faster, Oliver. You're almost there!"

Ignoring the 'Busy. Catch Me Later' sign in front of the door, Snape opened the PD door with a loud bang, hoping to see the two in the act…only to see Mr. Wood suddenly getting hit with what looked like a ball covered by a leather bag that's attached to a low ceiling.

"Oh god, Oliver! Snape, look what you've done!" Summers pointed at the fallen boy, who was already getting a bruise from that still swinging…bag thing. "What the hell is your problem?"

"My problem? What about yours? This…relationship needs to stop," although he was starting to expect that he jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"Problem? Relationship? What in the heck are you talking about? You endangered the safety of my student _and _totally ignored the sign that was on my door!" Buffy shouted as she got a pack of ice for the moaning student. "I was just helping Oliver here to get some extra credit for my class, you nut case. He missed a one of my classes because—"

"—I slept in after a long Quidditch practice," the insolent boy finished lamely as he tried standing up.

Oh damn.

Snape sputtered unintelligently, "But I thought—…You two were—…"

"Were what, Snape?" the smaller Professor snapped.

Looking back and forth between the two, Snape could feel his cheeks warming from embarrassment. Trying to save himself from further digging his own grave, he quickly turned around as dignified as he could and stomped out of the dratted classroom. Blast that Slayer!

"…Was it me or did his face actually turn pink?"

"It's the end of the world, Professor."

"Eh, not a bad exchange."

…

Her fidgeting was causing both Harry and Ron to look at each other nervously. She never fidgets…not even when she had to do that twenty-minute presentation in Potions about the history and the pros and cons of some root or other. Actually, she was the only girl or guy up there who didn't stutter or twitch.

So why now?

"Uhm, Hermione? Are…are you okay?" Ron asked tentatively.

"Yeah. You seem a bit off lately… Something wrong? Bad grade? Trelawney getting on your nerves again? Really 'Mione, you should just give the old bat a—…its not about her is it?" Harry stopped when she saw the look his friend gave her.

"Thank you Captain Obvious."

"Then what's your problem then? You've been twitching ever since two days ago."

"It's just…it doesn't add up you know?"

Ron looked at Harry, perturbed. "What doesn't add up?"

"Professor Summers."

Both of the boys groaned. "Oh Hermione. Not again!"

"Look. Just hear me out, okay?" When they both reluctantly nodded, she continued on, "First, it was the whole hippogryff thing—now I know you don't think anything important happened, but there was something odd about the whole deal. Don't deny it Harry, Ron! Not even Hagrid could stay still for that long and _he's_ been taking care of those creatures since day one! Besides, no one could've run that fast just in time to save Malfoy before anymore damaged can be done. Oh don't look so disappointed Ron. We all know what would've happened had that gone any further. Hagrid would've been fired faster than we can say 'accident.'

"Which brings us to that PD lesson awhile back ago. Has any one noticed how even though she ran faster than any of us, she had not one drop of sweat on her? I mean call me paranoid, but not even an Olympic runner could pull that off!"

"Olympic runner?"

"Uh…the Olympics are muggle games held every four years that's supposed to make the best of the best of muggle sports compete with each other. Track and field is one of the sports," Harry quickly explained. "But Hermione…she could've just done a simple spell or a charm. Something like an anti-sweating charm."

Hermione took note of this, but then remembered something. "True, but you heard her. You can't use any spells or potions in that class. Why would she do something quite the opposite?"

"Maybe because she's the professor? Maybe she hates being sweaty? Maybe—"

"That's too many maybe's Ronald."

"And all you have are speculations, Her-My-Own-EE," he enunciated.

"LOOK," Harry diffused the situation quickly. Seriously, some one needs to break the tension between those two. "Hermione might have a point here, but Ron is right. All you have are conclusions and circumstances, Hermione. If we are going to do something about all of this, we might as well have—"

"No magic."

"…say what?"

Hermione looked at them both with an excited gleam in her eyes. "No magic. Listen, have you two ever seen Prof—Buffy, use any magic? Any at all?"

"Well there was that…no.. But how bout…actually…No. Never."

"Well how's that for odd, Ron? Any professor we've had or hadn't had has used magic at least once in their career. But how about her? What's her excuse?"

"Hermione," Harry started pleadingly, "Buffy _only _teaches Physical Defense. There's nothing really anything to use magic for that. We all know that there's that no magic policy in her class. You just said that."

"Yes, but why the torch during the Hogwarts Express? Surely she could just say '_lumos' _if she wanted to light up her way? It was pretty dark when the lights went out."

"Unless…light was something she didn't need," Ron suggested, making Hermione's eyes grow wide.

"Of course!"

"But what would she need the torch for?"

"I don't know," Hermione conceded, "but it doesn't matter right now. It all makes that much more sense, don't you see? With us not seeing Buffy use any magic at all, and that she has to use a possible charmed torch…she's a squib!"

A pregnant pause followed. "Bloody hell. If this gets out, who knows what'll happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"Harry, not a lot of people think that squibs have…a place in 'common' society. It's almost as bad as some people think muggle-borns are; like they're beneath them, and stuff…like what the Slytherins think. Sorry Hermione."

"None taken. But there's one more thing I don't get."

"What is it?"

She chewed her lip, "About two days ago, I saw Summers enter the Forbidden Forest. At night. Now, if she is what we think she is…then how in all things magical can she enter the Forest with nothing—not even a lit torch—and still come back unscathed the next day? And teach us?"

"You mean…you don't think she's an ally of Voldemort?"

They all looked at each other nervously. What they all just insinuated was beyond…serious. If they were all wrong, they could get into more than a couple of weeks of detention. They'd be the 'delinquents' who cried wolf and they would be labeled as just attention grabbers! But on the other hand, if she was a worker of Voldemort and did nothing about it, then they would have the responsibility of knowing about it but not doing anything about said information.

"We need to find out more about her then. Any history—newspaper articles, past jobs and experiences, where she lived. We might even have to spy on her, how, I have no clue. But if what Hermione said is right, then Hogwarts is in serious, serious trouble."

…

"His name was Poochie. He was a show dog. With matted fu-ur, around his neck—" a dangerous, low growl from Pooch to the right abruptly stopped Buffy's taunting song, causing her to laugh at him.

"Geeze, pup—okay, okay wrong name apparently. What do you want me to call you anyways? You don't like 'Pooch', calling you 'pup' is out of the question apparently, and 'dog' is just plain unoriginal. All I'm left is Gregory, Jack…Jacquine if you're a girl…" his short snap of a bark just destroyed that thought.

"Okay, not a girl. How bout…Black? Plain and simple…and very descriptive of you. Like…Black as night. Or Black the big black dog," Buffy mused to herself before shaking her head. "Nah. Reminds me too much of that Sirius Black fellow I'm supposed to look out for."

The dog suddenly perked up its ears, his dark eyes looking at her with utmost scrutiny.

"You wouldn't happen to be him, would you?" Buffy said; had there been any more light, she would've seen the eyes of the dog grow that much bigger and his fur bristle as in endangered.

"What am I thinking? The magic thing really gets to my head sometimes. Besides, any body who names their kid 'Sirius' has some _serious _issues!"

Sighing inaudibly, the mutt tried to tune out the girl's hysterical laughter at her own joke while he calmed his frayed nerves as well. Finally getting up with her 'tear-jerking' pun, 'Pooch' gruffly gave a sharp bark to stop her laughter.

"Oh come on! You at least have to think its funny!" If his disinterested snort was any indication, he apparently did not think it was remotely hilarious, but it didn't stop her from ranting on.

"Well, in any case. I pictured this Sirius guy with a bunch of mid-life crisis problems and graying hair."

Buffy swore the dog actually glared at her.

**->**

_Thanks for the awesome reviews and all the support! The next chapter already has some stuff going on, so…it shouldn't take THAT all long to update. Right?_

_(unedited version)_


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